Founded on August 28th, 1996, Foton Motor is headquartered in Beijing, China. With a business scope covering a full series of commercial vehicles including medium and heavy-duty trucks, light-duty truck, mini truck, vans, pickup, bus, and construction machinery vehicles, Foton Motor has become a leading commercial vehicle manufacturer in the world. Foton Motor’s new energy technology has leading the world, especially in electricity and hydrogen fields.
1996 — Foton Motor Founded. Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Co., Ltd. (Foton Motor) was founded on August 28, 1996, as a commercial-vehicle subsidiary of BAIC Group, headquartered in Changping, Beijing, China.
2008 — Foton-ZF Strategic Partnership. Foton began long-term cooperation with ZF (Germany) for transmission systems in 2008, with continually deepening technical collaboration on automatic transmissions for trucks and pickups.
2008 — AUMAN Heavy Truck Series Launch. Foton entered the heavy-truck segment with the AUMAN series, establishing its presence in long-haul, mining, and construction haulage applications.
2017 — Tunland Pickup Launch. Foton launched the Tunland pickup line (V7, V9, E, G7, G9 models) for international markets, including RHD variants for African Commonwealth markets and LHD variants for LHD markets.
2018 — Cummins Foton Engine Joint Venture. Foton’s joint venture with Cummins (Beijing Foton Cummins Engine Co., Ltd., 50:50) produces the ISF and ISG engine series for heavy trucks (AUMAN GTL-E 6×4 tractor: ISG 400).
2021 — World’s First 70 MPa Hydrogen Fuel Bus Collision Test. Foton completed the world’s first collision test of a 70 MPa hydrogen fuel bus, filling the gap in China’s hydrogen fuel bus collision safety research. This milestone established Foton as a leader in commercial-vehicle hydrogen technology.
2022 — Beijing Winter Olympics Fuel Cell Bus. Foton’s hydrogen fuel cell bus products were deployed at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, equipped with 8 units of 70 MPa hydrogen storage cylinders. Foton was the official commercial-vehicle partner.
2024 — Foton International Global Export. Foton International (fotonintl.com) serves as the global export arm of Foton Motor, with priority markets across 14 countries in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. The lineup includes AUMAN heavy trucks, AUMARK light trucks, Tunland pickups, VIEW and Star Bus buses, and new-energy vehicles.
Aiming at the core pain points of battery low-temperature endurance decay, cold start, etc., FOTON’s all-weather power battery low-temperature enthalpy-increasing air-conditioning heating system can achieve a cabin temperature rise from -30°C to 19°C within 30 minutes, while the current conventional vehicle heat pump air-conditioning is difficult to start at -15°C. Under the extreme cold condition of -30°C, the battery can be activated to above 10 degrees with only weak current, which can ensure the normal start and driving of the vehicle under extreme cold conditions.
In 2021, FOTON completed the world’s first collision test of a 70 MPa hydrogen fuel bus which filled the gap in China’s hydrogen fuel bus collision safety research. The product is FOTON’s latest generation of fuel cell bus products specially developed for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The model is equipped with 8 units of 70 MPa hydrogen storage cylinders installed in the lower luggage compartment position of the vehicle. The collision test was carried out by a moving barrier weighing 1.4 tons hitting the weakest side of the hydrogen cylinder compartment at a speed of 53 km/h. This test standard is already higher than the national standard for testing the collision safety of lithium-ion power battery buses.
As a key technology for commercial vehicle digitalization, FOTON’s VoI platform keeps evolving and has launched products and services such as fleet management, remote intelligent doctor, and e-home, which enable vehicle lifecycle detection. With the 5G high-frequency transmission technology, the data between the vehicle and the cloud platform is connected with less latency. Currently, FOTON’s VoI has accessed more than 2.26 million vehicles and has become one of the largest VoI platforms in China.
Air resistance is one of the factors that affect fuel consumption, and truck platooning can effectively reduce vehicle fuel consumption. Focusing on key scenarios such as interchange ramps, tunnel entrances and exits, accident-prone sections, etc., FOTON platooning technology has overcome key technical problems such as clock synchronization, high-precision positioning, cloud-computing, etc., it has achieved real-time perception of abnormal traffic events such as highway accidents, pedestrian intrusion, etc. The vehicle platoon can maintain a 10m inter-vehicle distance at a speed of 80km/h. It realizes single-person driving multi-vehicle platoon following, which has strong competitiveness in saving fuel and reducing road occupancy. In case of an emergency that requires braking, the system can complete the operation within 0.1 seconds, reducing the probability of driver error and helping to reduce the driver’s work intensity and pressure.
The long cooperation between FOTON and ZF has started since 2008. Both parties have been continually seeking opportunities to further deepen cooperation in terms of transmission system technology. With mutual recognition of excellent market potential for automated commercial vehicles, at the end of 2016, FOTON and ZF established two joint ventures in China, which are known as ZF Foton HCV Automated Transmissions (Jiaxing) Co., Ltd. and Foton ZF LCV Automated Transmissions (Jiaxing) Co., Ltd.
LEADING TECHNOLOGY COOPERATION
The joint venture has made automatic transmission a core strategy and has launched a full range of automatic transmission products. The heavy-duty automatic transmission, namely ZF’s second-generation TraXon AMT gearbox, is about to be mass-produced by FOTON & ZF joint venture company, further improving fuel economy and driving comfort.
FOTON has taken commercial automation and digitalization as a central position in corporate strategy, aiming to making fleet management for trucks more efficient than ever before, and leading forward to the commercial vehicle mobility and intelligence.
Why Choose us
Foton International’s commercial-vehicle export program is built on three pillars: rigorous quality control, sustainable manufacturing practices, and responsive after-sales support for international dealers and fleet operators.
Foton Motor operates under ISO 9001 quality management systems and CCC (China Compulsory Certification). Every commercial vehicle exported by Foton International undergoes pre-shipment inspection (PSI) at the Qingdao / Shanghai / Tianjin production facilities, with options for buyer-arranged third-party inspectors (SGS, BV, TUV) or Foton in-house QC reports.
Foton maintains a global spare-parts supply network through authorized dealers and distribution partners. Common parts lead time is 7-14 days via air freight and 30-45 days via sea freight. Critical parts are available for fast-track shipping. International dealers and fleet operators can access parts through local Foton-authorized service centers.
Every Foton vehicle exported through Foton International includes standard manufacturer warranty. Warranty terms vary by model and component (powertrain, electronics, body). Warranty claims are processed through authorized dealers. Foton International also offers technician training programs for dealers and provides engineering support for complex service scenarios. No matter where the vehicle operates, Foton is committed to keeping it running