ZF Friedrichshafen AG and Beiqi Foton Motor Co. Ltd., have announced that they have decided to renew their agreement on strategic cooperation in China. The two partners have been closely cooperating for two years and further projects have already been planned.
Within the next two years, Foton will launch a new generation of its light commercial vehicles on the Chinese market and these will be equipped with the cost-effective ZF-Ecolite 6-speed transmission. To this end, ZF and Foton jointly developed a transmission variant which is specially adapted to the requirements and demands of the Chinese market.
These aspects are included in an agreement that was signed on 22 September at the IAA Commercial Vehicles 2010 event in Hanover, Germany, by the executive vice president of Foton, Xiyong Zhang, and the ZF vice president, Rolf Lutz.
The strategic cooperation between ZF and Beiqi Foton Motor started in September 2008. In joint development work, the two partners adapted a proven ZF transmission to meet the specifications for a new truck. Standard equipment for the light commercial vehicle – unveiled for the first time at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition - is ZF's 5S 400 manual transmission. The transmission is manufactured at the ZF plant in Hangzhou, China.
Both parties are now undertaking intensive research on possible cooperation in other fields and investigating the joint potential for cooperation outside of China.
Beiqi Foton's corporate brands include Auman, AUV, View, Saga, Aumark, Ollin, Sup and Forland.
