PONTEDERA, Italy, May 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 15, 2018, Foton Motor and Piaggio Group held the signing ceremony on the joint development project of new light-duty commercial vehicle product in Italy. This agreement was signed jointly by the Vice President of Foton Motor Group and CEO of Foton International, Mr. Chang Rui, and the Chairman and CEO of Piaggio & C. S.p.A. (PIA.MI), Roberto Colaninno.
Since 2016, Foton Motor and Piaggio Group have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and a Framework Agreement in succession. The final signing of this agreement symbolizes that the two parties have sufficiently completed the project feasibility analysis and officially entered the implementation stage of new product development. The European market is an important sector for the global layout of Foton Motor. The new product development project with Piaggio Group this time is not only a strategic solution of Foton's global diversification but also demonstrates Foton's resolution for the expansion of European market.
Piaggio Group is the largest motorcycle manufacturer in Europe, with the production and sales volume of two-wheel motorcycles ranking first in the European market, and it is expanding rapidly in the field of three and four-wheel light-duty commercial vehicles. In 2017, its global sales volume of commercial vehicles hit 176,800 units.
As China's first commercial vehicle manufacturer, Foton Motor is engaged in the operations of whole-series commercial vehicles, including medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks, light-duty trucks, VANs, pickups, and buses, Foton Motor has established joint ventures with world-leading manufacturers, including Daimler, Cummins, and ZF, and has more than 1,000 sales and service networks for coverage of 110 countries and regions worldwide. Always leading the trend of China's commercial vehicle industry around the world, Foton Motor presently is integrating information technology and manufacturing technology and aiming to realize intelligent products, intelligent plants, and intelligent management.
The cooperation between Foton and Piaggio Group this time is an important milestone for the joint expansion of the European auto market for the two parties. By taking this opportunity, Piaggio Group will realize the upgrade of commercial vehicle products in the European market and at the same time play an active role in its expansion of market business and consolidation of market position. The new four-wheel light-duty commercial vehicle products for the European market are based on the present mini-truck product platform of Foton Motor, inherit the advantages of Foton Motor's mini-trucks in terms of product quality, driving/riding comfort, and fuel-economy, and combine the world's cutting-edge technologies to launch all-new logistics and passenger transport solutions and complete the all-new "Last Mile" city logistics ecosphere. In the future, the two parties will, at an appropriate time, develop the new electric vehicles with intelligent interconnectivity system and, as appropriate, enter the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Central and South America, and Africa markets.
The Sino-European cooperation proves that Foton Motor not only boasts world-leading lean manufacturing system but also incorporates rich product lines and globalized development capability. This cooperation is one small step for Foton Motor to continuously carry forward the globalization strategy for the European market and is also a giant leap toward intellectual property technology output advocated by "Made-in-China 2025".
