On June 4, 2024, FOTON and Iveco Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Beijing to explore cooperation in the field of electric vehicles and components, aiming to jointly expand into European and South American markets.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by executives from Foton including Chairman Chang Rui, Executive Vice President Lu Zhenghua, Vice President Chen Qingshan, Vice President Qin Zhidong, Vice President of Global Partnership Ma Rentao, Vice President of Powertrain& Driveline Feng Jing; delegation from Iveco Group included CEO Gerrit Marx, President of Truck Business Unit Luca Sra, President of Powertrain Business Unit Sylvain Blaise, Chief Technology & Digital Officer Marco Liccardo, Chief Supply Chain Officer Angela Qu and Chief Manufacturing Officer Ángel Rodríguez Lagunilla. This MOU not only recognizes FOTON's strength in electric vehicles but also marks another solid step forward in FOTON's globalization strategy.
Jointly Exploring New Development
As a leading commercial vehicle manufacturer in China, FOTON is committed to driving innovation and development in the automotive industry. This partnership will see two parties jointly explore the commercialisation of an electric panel van for Europe and South America, in the lightest category of up to GVW 3.5 tons through IVECO's sales channels. The van is expected to have a positive impact on regional and local supply chains in these markets.
IVECO, the commercial vehicle brand of Iveco Group, is specialized in the design, manufacture and sale of heavy, medium and light trucks. Promoting the electrification of light commercial vehicles and increasing the range of electric range with a GVW of up to 3.5 tons is an important strategy for Iveco Group, and the collaboration with FOTON will ensure the availability of a panel van model within this range.
The signing of MOU also opens the door for further collaborative discussions between both parties. This includes the possible localisation of activities in Europe and South America, to be evaluated at a later stage. Supply opportunities between Iveco Group and Foton, including through Iveco Group's powertrain brand FPT Industrial, will also be discussed.
Embarking on a New Journey of International Cooperation
For years, FOTON has adhered to globalization and new energy strategy, focusing on developing low-carbon and zero-carbon green technologies and industrial system. Since 2004, FOTON has exported 926k vehicles cumulatively, ranking first in China's commercial vehicle export for 13 consecutive years, with products sold in 130 countries. FOTON has independently developed and mastered core EV technologies, and has developed multiple new energy vehicle technical solutions, including BEV, hybrid, and hydrogen fuel cell, covering full range of commercial vehicle products. Foton's NEV products have been exported to 45 countries and regions, not only accelerating green transformation of global logistics, but also providing overseas consumers with more green and environmentally friendly transport solutions.
FOTON actively builds local product ecosystem, expanding cooperative models such as "traditional energy + new energy, brand + technology, equity joint ventures + technical cooperation, and go global together with suppliers", upgrading Chinese auto industrial chain from "product export" to "industrial chain going global". FOTON builds a customer-centric global system to continually improve overseas customer satisfaction by systematic improvement of on-time delivery, quality satisfaction and knocked-down parts project. In terms of spare part system building, FOTON has significantly improved operation quality of its distribution centers in Dubai and America, optimizing inventory structures to support further breakthroughs in overseas business.
Moving forward, together with its global partners, FOTON will continue to contribute more to green and efficient logistics.
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