Daimler AG signed an agreement with Beiqi Foton Motor Co. on Friday to set up a 6.35 billion yuan ($940 million) venture to make medium and heavy duty trucks in Beijing, as the two seek to boost sales in China, Bloomberg reported.
The trucks will bear the Auman nameplate and use engine technology from the Daimler’s Mercedes- Benz unit, with an annual production capacity of 100,000 vehicles and 45,000 heavy diesel engines, Bloomberg said.
“The joint venture offers us an excellent springboard from which we can achieve growth, profitability and expansion in China,” Andreas Renschler, head of Daimler’s global trucks unit.
Companies including Daimler, Nissan Motor Co. and General Motors Co. are increasing capacity in China even as sales growth slows, Bloomberg said.
Vehicle sales including buses and trucks rose 23% in June to 1.41 million, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said July 9, compared with a 48% average growth rate during the first six months of the year, Bloomberg reported.
Daimler will also start making passenger-vehicle engines at its car-making venture with Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co., Beiqi Foton’s parent, Bloomberg reported.
