Daimler to form New Chinese Joint Venture with Beiqi Foton

Mercedes-Benz's parent company Daimler AG has signed a letter of intent to form a new 50:50 joint venture with China's Beiqi Foton Motor Co., Ltd to produce medium and heavy-duty trucks and exchange technology in China. The deal between the companies has not been finalized yet as it has to gain the approval of the Chinese government. If the agreement is approved, Daimler will have two commercial vehicle joint ventures and one passenger car joint venture in China, in addition to its financial services operations there.

"This joint venture is another step in realizing both our long-term commercial vehicle strategy and our China strategy," said Dr. R�diger Grube, Daimler AG Board of Management member responsible for corporate development. "Foton is the right partner for us. This cooperation is a win-win situation for both companies and, most importantly, for our customers."

"At BAIC we are very happy to expand our business relationship with Daimler to include commercial vehicles at Beiqi Foton, in addition to our cooperation for passenger cars at BeijingBenz-DaimlerChrysler Automotive," said BAIC Chairman Xu. BAIC is the primary Chinese shareholder for both Beiqi Foton Trucks, Ltd. and BeijingBenz-DaimlerChrysler Automotive Ltd. (BBDC).