Foton to invest 2 bln yuan in Youngman hometown

Shanghai, July 10 (Gasgoo.com) Beiqi Foton Motor has recently signed a deal with Jinhua city of Zhejiang province to invest 2 billion yuan ($292 million) in building a large manufacturing base for large special vehicles and cranes. When the project starts production, it will generate an estimated 30 billion yuan in annual revenue, said xinhuanet.com today.

Beiqi Foton is a major Chinese manufacturer of commercial vehicles and boasts the country's largest variety of automotive products. Its Shandong-based Foton Lovol Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. manufactures and exports special vehicles including construction machinery, logistic vehicles, public utility vehicles, and agricultural equipment. Its agricultural harvesters now have 70% domestic market share. Meanwhile, Over 13,000 units of Lovol products have been exported to more than 90 countries, generating total revenue of $100 million.

Jinhua, a city located in the central part of east China's Zhejiang province, is home to Youngman Man Automobile Co Ltd., the Chinese partner of UK automaker Lotus. The two companies jointly launched the first race car RCR in China in January and Jinhua Youngman is said to produce the Proton Gen 2-based Europestar Lotus RCR hatchback later this year. The municipality of Jinhua has decided to make the city one of the most important auto-manufacturing bases in China. 

Separately, Sweden-headquartered Volvo Trademark Holding AB, in charge of the trademark dispute between Volvo Cars and Foton Lovol, is collecting evidence of the similar name used by the Chinese truck-maker but has not revealed when the Swedish company will go to court for this case. Foton Lovol said that its name has nothing to do with Volvo.