Daimler Trucks’ Chinese joint-venture reportedly will invest $415.3 million to expand its manufacturing operation in Beijing to build heavy trucks. Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive will add a new production line to produce 50,000 Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks annually, according to development plans published at its website.
The project will begin in 2021.
Neither Daimler nor its joint venture partner, Beiqi Foton Motor Co., has confirmed the expansion.
Presently, the joint venture manufactures a line of lower-cost trucks branded as Auman, incorporating Daimler designs and technologies, and imports Mercedes-Benz models. Daimler Trucks has previously maintained it plans to manufacture the Actros series in China.
The MB Actros heavy-duty trucks have been manufactured since 1996, for long-distance hauling, heavy distribution, and construction hauling. The trucks are powered by six-cylinder diesel engines, with turbocharging.
Recently, Daimler CEO Ola Källenius said China is and will remain the largest market for its Mercedes-Benz cars and trucks through the next decade, and that the group will adjust production to address shifting regional demand.
Truck sales have increased 24% year-over-year through 10 months of 2020, with a total of 3.87 million trucks sold. New and replacement trucks that match emissions regulations have been an important factor in this growth, according to analysts.
