BAIC Foton Motor Co., Ltd. ( ), known as Foton Motor or Foton, is a Chinese company that designs and manufactures trucks, buses and sport utility vehicles . It is headquartered in

Changping Changping or Chang Ping, may refer to: Transportation *Changping station (Beijing Subway) (昌平), a subway station on Changping line of Beijing Subway. Located in Beijing. *Changping line (昌平线), a subway line of Beijing Subway *Changping r ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, and is a subsidiary of the BAIC Group.

History

Founded on August 28, 1996, Foton manufactures light and heavy-duty

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

s, agricultural tractors, and various other machinery. Foton International Trade Co., Ltd, Beijing, is Foton Motor Group's international sales subsidiary. In addition to the heavier trucks, Foton also builds a car inspired by the Toyota HiAce H100, called the "Foton View" or "Foton Alpha". In August 2002, the company started producing Foton Auman truck. In March 2006 Foton and Cummins Inc. announced the creation of a 50:50 joint venture company, Beijing Foton Cummins Engine Company (BFCEC), to produce light-duty diesel engines, of 2.8 and 3.8 liter displacement. In October 2009 Foton agreed to form a joint venture to develop and produce vehicle batteries with Pulead Technology Industry Co. In July 2010 Foton announced the establishment of a European headquarters in Moscow, Russia. Foton established a sales company in India in April 2011. In February 2012, Beiqi Foton Motors Co., Ltd. and Daimler AG established a 50-50 joint venture, Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Cventure, at an investment of RMB6.35 billion. The joint venture would take over Foton's existing Auman medium- and heavy-duty truck business, including production sites, sales and service network. Foton will build an assembly plant in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, in order to participate in the growing

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

market for light commercial vehicles. The company also plans to build a plant in Western

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

, India. Foton has announced a bus factory in Brazil in the state of Bahia, as part of their globalization plan. Foton has held a press conference in 2015, previewing the Sauvana while announcing news to bring the brand to the United States. In September 2017 Foton and

Piaggio Piaggio & C. SpA (Piaggio ) is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Gilera, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi, and Scarabeo. Its ...

agreed to form a joint venture to develop and produce light commercial vehicle. Based on Foton chassis the new vehicle was sold by Piaggio Commercial Vehicle division in Europe and in all market around the world but not in China. The vehicle was intended as a successor of the

Piaggio Porter The Piaggio Porter is a cab over microvan and pick-up produced and sold by the Italian company Piaggio since 1992 under the ''Piaggio Commercial Vehicle'' brand. First generation (1992) Development The collaboration project between Piaggio and ...

and production was planned to starts in the mid 2019 in

Pontedera Pontedera (; la, Pons Herae) is an italian comune with a population of 29.270 inhabitants, located in the province of Pisa, Tuscany, Central Italy, central Italy. The town is located 20 km (12 miles) from Pisa and 50 km (31 miles) from Florenc ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

) with all components produced by Foton in China. In August 2018, Foton Motor announced they would set up a plant in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

by next year to assemble commercial vehicles in a joint venture with ACI Motors

Operations

Foton is headquartered in

Changping District Changping District (), formerly Changping County (), is a district situated in the suburbs of north and northwest Beijing. History Changping County and Jundu County which administered the area were established in the Han Dynasty. Changping was i ...

. Foton's business units are seen in cities and provinces such as Beijing,

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

, and

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

. Its R&D branches are distributed in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It has assets exceeding 50 billion Yuan and 300,000 employees. Foton, whose brand value exceeds 61.932 billion Yuan in 2005, ranked No.1 in auto industry and No. 11 in the “Top 500 Most Valuable Brands”. Foton business marquee also consists of a branch in

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

. Och motors LLC, is one of the biggest conglomerate in Mongolia, is the official distributor of Foton in Mongolian market.

North Korea

Foton manufactures vehicles in Hanghang district,

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

in the Samhung Joint Venture Company factory, Foton Vehicles in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

are sold under the Chonji Marque.

Products

Buses

4633016 at Baiwangxincheng (20200101140318)

3838558 at Liuliqiaonan (20201017133544)

Foton AUV (福田欧辉) * Foton AUV New Directions (since 2000; Original name:新干线欧V) * Foton AUV panoramic Unlimited (since 2003; Original name:全景无限) * Foton AUV Pioneer Europe (since 1998; Original name:欧V先锋)Brand name * Foton Green Earth (Using city bus in Gangneung, South Korea. It was introduced in 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.)

Trucks

Foton Auman * Foton Auman Jones (; Original name:欧曼奇兵) * Foton Auman Lion (; Original name:欧曼雄狮) * Foton Auman Kunlun Mountains (; Original name:欧曼昆仑) * Foton Auman Shenzhou (; Original name:欧曼神舟) * Foton Auman H4 (since 2011) Foton Aumark (欧马可) * Foton Aumark (since 2005, Original name:欧马可) Foton Forland (时代汽车) * Foton Forland (Since 2006, Original name:时代轻卡) * Foton Forland King Kong (since 1998 under license of a South American VW trucks; Original name:时代金刚) * Foton Forland Ruiwo (since 1998 under license of a South American VW trucks; Original name:瑞沃) Foton Ollin (奥铃) * Foton Ollin Beyond (since 2005, Original name:奥铃超越) * Foton Ollin MRI (since 2005, Original name:奥铃捷运)

Passenger vehicles

Gratour MPVs (北京伽途) * Gratour im6 (智爱MPV) * Gratour im8 (智美运动家庭车) * Gratour ix5 (1501cc;since 2016) (智行MPV) * Gratour ix7 (1507cc;since 2016) (智趣S—MPV) Foton Sauvana SUV (萨瓦纳) (since 2014; also known as Foton Toplander)

Foton Tunland The Foton Tunland is a budget compact pickup sold by the Chinese manufacturer Foton Motor sold in China since November 2011 as well as Australia, Colombia, and emerging markets. Overview To help manufacture the Tunland, joint venture agreements w ...

(拓陆者) pickup * Foton Tunland E3 * Foton Tunland E5 * Foton Tunland S Foton Tunland Yutu (拓陆者驭途) pickup * Foton Tunland Yutu 8 * Foton Tunland Yutu 9 Foton Grand General (福田大将军 pickup)

Foton Saga The Foton Saga is a 5-seater compact SUV produced by Foton Motor that later spawned a pickup version called the Foton SUP or Foton Sapu (萨普). Overview The overall styling of the facelifted Foton Saga resembles the second generation Honda C ...

(since 2004 under license of DangDong -terrain vehicle; Original name:福田传奇)(Discontinued)

Foton SUP The Foton Saga is a 5-seater compact SUV produced by Foton Motor that later spawned a pickup version called the Foton SUP or Foton Sapu (萨普). Overview The overall styling of the facelifted Foton Saga resembles the second generation Honda CR- ...

(since 2004 pickup based on the Saga; Original name:萨普) SUVs sold under the Borgward Group brand. File:Foton Midi LWB facelift China 2014-04-16.jpg, Foton Midi LWB File:Foton Sauvana 01 China 2016-04-09.jpg, Foton Sauvana File:Foton SUP China 2015-04-10.jpg, Foton SUP File:Foton Toano SWB China 2016-04-07.jpg, Foton Toano File:Foton Tunland 2 China 2016-04-09.jpg, Foton Tunland File:2018 Beiqi-Foton View G9, front 8.7.18.jpg, Foton View File:Foton MP-X LWB China 2014-04-16.jpg, Foton MP-X File:Gratour im6 China 2017-03-31.jpg, Foton Gratour im6 File:Gratour im8 China 2017-03-29.jpg, Foton Gratour im8 File:Gratour iX5 China 2017-03-26.jpg, Foton Gratour ix5 File:Gratour ix7 China 2017-03-26.jpg, Foton Gratour ix7

Light commercial vehicles

Foton MP-X The Foton MP-X is a light commercial van that can seat up to 12 occupants produced by the Chinese automobile manufacturer Foton. The MP-X was sold throughout China and southeast Asian countries including the Philippines and Singapore ...

(MP-X蒙派克) MPV * Foton MP-X Parker Mongolia (since 2005; Original name: MP-X蒙派克)

Foton View The Foton View (福田风景) is a series of light commercial van produced by the Chinese automobile manufacturer Foton. First launched in 2000, the Foton View has since been available in a wide range of body configurations, including a miniva ...

(福田风景) * Foton View G9 (since 2004 heavily resembling the Toyota HiAce as the high top version) * Foton View G7 (Also known as CS2; since 2004 under license of the Toyota HiAce as the low top version) * Foton View V5 compact MPV * Foton View V3 microvan

Foton Toano The Foton Toano (图雅诺) is a light commercial vehicle (van) built by Foton of Beijing, China as a van, chassis cab, and minibus. Overview The Foton Toano was produced by Chinese car manufacturer Foton since 2015, and the styling is contr ...

(since 2015) business class van/ minibus Foton Xiangling (Original name:祥菱) light truck series (Discontinued) * Foton Xiangling M *

Foton Xiangling V The Foton View V3 and Foton View V5 are microvans produced by the China, Chinese automaker Foton Motor. The View V3 and V5 was originally launched as the Foton Gratour V3 in December 2014 and Foton Gratour V5 during the 2015 Shanghai Auto Show. ...

Foton Midi The Foton Midi ( zh, 福田迷迪) is a Leisure activity vehicle produced from 2008 to 2014 by Foton, a subsidiary of BAIC Group Beijing Automotive Group Co., Ltd. (BAIC) is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Shu ...

(Discontinued) Foton View Express (produced from 2001 to 2012 resembling the Toyota HiAce, Original name:风景快运)
Foton View Express Passenger (produced from 2000 to 2006 resembling the Toyota HiAce, Original name:风景快客)
Foton View Ireland Act (produced from 1999 to 2005 resembling the Toyota HiAce, Original name:风景爱尔法) Foton Zhilan (Smart Smurf) * Foton Smart Smurf E5/ E7

Foton Rowor (Original name:瑞沃) trucks

Light trucks

* Foton Rowor Xiaojingang * Foton Rowor E3 * Foton Rowor Dajingang 1 * Foton Rowor Dajingang 3

Heavy trucks

* Foton Rowor ES3 * Foton Rowor ES5 * Foton Rowor ES7 * Foton Rowor Q5 * Foton Rowor Q9 * Foton Rowor Dajingang ES3 * Foton Rowor Dajingang ES5

Sales

Foton Motor sold a total of 640,400 vehicles in 2011.

References

External links

Foton official website

Foton official website

UK Supplier of Foton tractors
{{Automotive industry in China BAIC Group divisions and subsidiaries Truck manufacturers of China Manufacturing companies based in Beijing Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1996 Chinese companies established in 1996 Chinese brands