Buyers get a very basic car for the money; but it still seats four, it has enough space for groceries, and it can calmly cruise on the highway. Power comes from a 0.8 liter three-cylinder petrol engine with an output of 36 horsepower and 60 Newton meter, good for an acceptable top speed of 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles). Gearbox is a four-speed manual, sending horses to the front wheels.
The TT is 3.3 meters long and 1.4 meters wide, small enough to park everywhere and sneak through traffic jams. It is cheap to run too. Parts costs next to nothing and fuel consumption is only 5.2 liter per 100 kilometers. Most are sold in smaller cities and the countryside, where incomes are lower and status matters a little less.
The Jiangnan TT is based on the second generation Suzuki Alto (1984-1988). The Alto has a long and illustrious history in China; Suzuki manufactured the Alto in a joint venture with Changan Automobile, licensed the production rights to various other Chinese automakers, and sold the Alto platform to yet other automakers that build some very eccentric cars on it.
Jiangnan Auto holds a license for making the Alto/TT. They got it by buying the Jiangbei Machinery Plant in 2005. Jiangbei Machinery had an original license; they made the Alto and the Tongtian Glow, a self-designed Alto variant. Jiangnan Auto killed the Tongtian, continued the Alto, and added their own self-designed variant to the mix, which lasted just a few years.
Then things got a bit messy for the Alto. Production stopped in 2009, was restarted in 2010, and it was renamed TT in 2011. That is the car we still have on the market today, Jiangnan Auto didn’t change a bit on it and the roots of the 0.8 liter engine date back to the original 1984 Suzuki unit.
That makes the Jiangnan TT a true time capsule. But it won’t last forever. The large dealer discounts indicate demand is weak and that spells trouble. Get one before it is too late!