The Big Car Database

Foton

Beiqi Foton Motor Co., Ltd. (Foton Motor or Foton) is a Chinese company which designs and manufactures trucks, buses, sport utility vehicles and agricultural machinery.

It is headquartered in Changping, Beijing and is a subsidiary of BAIC Group.

Foton makes commercial trucks in a joint venture with Daimler AG, called Beijing Foton Daimler Automobile Co., Ltd., which sells its products under the "Auman" brand name.

Type

Subsidiary
Industry Automotive
Founded 1996 (Beijing)
Headquarters Changping, Beijing, China
Products Automobiles, Commercial Vehicles, Tractors

Number of employees

circa 40,000
Parent BAIC Group
Subsidiaries Beijing Foton Cummins Engine Co., Ltd. (50%)
Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Co., Ltd. (50%)
Website foton-global.com

History

Founded on August 28, 1996, Foton manufactures light and heavy-duty trucks, agricultural tractors, and various other machinery.

In addition to the heavier trucks, Foton also builds a copy of the Toyota Hiace H100, called the "Foton View" or "Foton Alpha".

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 January 2009 Foton and Daimler AG agreed to form a 50-50 joint venture for the production of medium- and heavy-duty trucks in China, with an initial investment of 6.35 billion yuan. Creation of the venture received the approval of the Chinese government in July 2010.

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.

Foton will build an assembly plant in Colombia, in order to participate in the growing Latin American market for light commercial vehicles. The company also plans to build a plant in Western Maharashtra, 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.

Operations

Foton is headquartered in Changping District, Beijing. Foton's business units are seen in cities and provinces such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong, Hebei, Hunan, Hubei,Liaoning, and Guangdong. Its R&D branches are distributed in Japan, Germany, Taiwan and The Philippines. It has assets exceeding 50 billion Yuan and 290,000 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, Mongolia. Och motors LLC which is one of the biggest conglomerate in Mongolia, is the official distributor of Foton in Mongolian market.

Products

Buses

Foton AUV (福田欧V)

  • 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)

Trucks

Foton Auman

  • Foton Auman Jones (since 2003, under license of Mercedes-Benz trucks; Original name:欧曼奇兵)
  • Foton Auman Lion (since 2003, under license of Mercedes-Benz trucks; Original name:欧曼雄狮)
  • Foton Auman Kunlun Mountains (since 2003, under license of Mercedes-Benz trucks; Original name:欧曼昆仑)
  • Foton Auman Shenzhou (since 2003, under license of Mercedes-Benz trucks; Original name:欧曼神舟)
  • Foton Auman H4 (since 2011)

Foton Aumark (欧马可)

  • Foton Aumark (since 2005, under license of Isuzu trucks; Original name:欧马可)

Foton Forland (时代汽车)

  • Foton Forland (Since 2006, licensed production of Isuzu trucks; 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, under license of Isuzu trucks; Original name:奥铃超越)
  • Foton Ollin MRI (since 2005, licensed production of Isuzu trucks; Original name:奥铃捷运)

Minivans

Foton MP-X (MP-X蒙派克)

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

Foton View (福田风景)

  • Foton View Express (since 2001 under license of the Toyota Hiace, Original name:风景快运)
  • Foton View Express Passenger (since 2000 under license of the Toyota Hiace, Original name:风景快客)
  • Foton View Ireland Act (since 1999 under license of the Toyota Hiace, Original name:风景爱尔法)

Vans

Foton Toano

SUVs

  • Foton Saga (since 2004 under license of DangDong -terrain vehicle; Original name:福田传奇)
  • Foton SUP (since 2004 Sport SUV based on the Saga; Original name:萨普)
  • Foton Sauvana (also known as Foton Toplander)

Pickups

  • Foton Tunland