Chinese automaker ready to tap Brazilian market

Chinese commercial vehicle manufacturer Beiqi Foton Motors Co signed an agreement with US engine manufacturer Cummins Inc on June 5 to jointly explore the Brazilian market. Foton will partner Cummins to build two plants in the country by 2014.

The new plants in Brazil will produce light trucks and pick-ups for the South American market, but annual production capacity has not yet been decided. Cummins now has a local plant with annual production capacity of 30,000 engines.

Earlier this week, Foton also signed an agreement with the Cuban Ministry of Transportation to start a demonstration project of its new energy vehicles.

Until now, Foton has set up overseas branches in India and Russia and has built plants in more than 20 countries.

Foton and Cummins already have projects in the Chinese market with a joint-venture engine plant producing 400,000 engines every year. These engines are installed to Foton’s high-end heavy-duty trucks, Auman GTL, which are mainly exported to the European market.

According to a report from Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, Brazil has grown to be the fourth-largest vehicle market in the world, after China, the US and Japan.