Foton Motor Tops 55,000 Units in September as "Golden September" Recovery Validates Its Strategy and Technology Bets

In September, China's domestic commercial vehicle industry entered its traditional "Golden September" selling season. As extreme heat receded, construction activity resumed, autumn harvest transport ramped up and e-commerce pulled forward its pre-holiday stocking, end-market demand showed a seasonal, mild recovery. Yet constrained by a slow pace of macro demand repair, freight rates stuck at low levels and a high comparable base from the same period last year, the overall recovery was weaker than in previous years — and competition continued to concentrate among leading players with deep technology reserves and far-reaching global footprints.

Against this backdrop of weak recovery, Foton Motor stood clearly above the industry average, supported by the resilience of its heavy-truck core business, high overseas growth and rapid new energy penetration. The latest production and sales data show: Foton Motor sold more than 55,000 vehicles in September, and nearly 518,000 in January–September, up 7.9% year on year. Overseas, September volumes rose 38.9% year on year and cumulative exports grew 43.6%. The new energy business posted 52% year-on-year growth in September and 28% for the nine months, keeping Foton firmly ranked first in China's commercial vehicle industry and further consolidating its lead.

Scenario Depth Plus Iterating Technology: Heavy Trucks Build a Cycle-Resistant Base

In September, China's heavy-truck market improved month on month as construction resumed and logistics operators built inventory, but a high year-ago base and soft diesel demand kept the industry under year-on-year pressure. The divergence in the market played out precisely in scenario-fit capability and technology reserves. Foton's heavy-truck business, backed by a multi-powertrain product matrix and an intelligent-driving technology portfolio, replaced homogenized price competition with scenario-specific depth and showed stronger resistance to the cycle. Heavy truck sales reached 12,000 units in September and 125,000 in January–September, up 20.4% year on year.

Precise execution at the end-user scenario level captured peak-season niche demand. On September 18, 100 Auman Galaxy 5M 4×2 diesel heavy trucks were formally delivered to one of Beijing's leading express logistics companies. The vehicles were exclusively calibrated for the high-frequency, long-haul, time-critical operating profile of express delivery, and will be deployed across the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region and the national trunk express network, further strengthening Foton's position in trunk logistics. In the same month, Foton Motor won the tractor procurement package of the Tarim Transport Branch of CNPC Kunlun Logistics — 15 vehicles in total spanning electric and CNG powertrains, to serve materials transport at northwestern oil and gas fields, a clear endorsement by the energy sector of Foton's multi-energy-route product line.

Continuous product and technology iteration closed remaining scenario gaps. On September 21, Foton Auman officially launched the Galaxy 5M 513 kWh bottom-swapping heavy truck. Targeting the pain points of high-frequency short-haul duty such as port and plant shuttling, it adopts a bottom-swapping architecture with refuelling as fast as five minutes, and pairs a large-capacity battery pack with a high-efficiency integrated e-drive system — effectively solving the industry's chronic problems of time-consuming replenishment and low operating efficiency for new energy heavy trucks, and completing Foton's all-scenario new energy heavy-truck matrix.

Intelligentization and core components continue to reinforce the long-term moat. The Cangqiong intelligent driving system is now in sustained commercial use, with Auman Galaxy intelligent-driving heavy trucks delivering more than 3,000 units cumulatively to mainstream logistics operators and covering China's core freight corridors. Meanwhile the independently controllable heavy-truck powertrain keeps scaling: the Foton–ZF integrated e-axle continues to expand its fitted volume, further lifting self-reliance in critical components.

From Product Export to System Export: Globalization as the Second Growth Curve

With the domestic market recovering only gradually, exports have become the core lever for leading commercial vehicle makers to smooth cyclical swings — though most of the industry remains at the初级 stage of simply shipping products. Foton Motor has ranked first in Chinese commercial vehicle exports for fifteen consecutive years, and September brought multiple landmark breakthroughs in overseas business: from localized system upgrades in emerging markets to high-end technology entries in mature ones, pushing globalization from "products going overseas" toward "full value chain going overseas." Nearly 19,000 units were exported in September, up 38.9% year on year; cumulative exports for January–September reached nearly 169,000 units, up 43.6%. The export mix kept improving, with the share of high-value products such as new energy vehicles and premium heavy trucks rising steadily.

Localized operations stepped up another level as emerging markets were deepened. On September 5, Forland Qihang (Qingdao) International Trade Co., Ltd. — the overseas operating entity of Foton's Forland Division — was officially unveiled in the Qingdao Free Trade Zone, marking the start of systematic, full-scale international operation for the Forland business. At the launch ceremony, an 800-unit commercial vehicle order was signed with a Ghanaian partner, covering both diesel and new energy products, further deepening Foton's footprint in Africa and lifting local delivery and service capability.

Breakthroughs in mature markets moved technology and brand overseas together. On September 14, the 2026 IAA Transportation show opened in Hanover, Germany, where Foton Motor exhibited at its largest scale ever, bringing seven new energy vehicles and six self-developed core components under the theme "EASY MOVE — Moving Everything More Freely," spanning heavy trucks, light trucks, vans, pickups, buses and specialty vehicles. During the show, Foton unveiled its new European strategy and held the handover ceremony for its 13-millionth vehicle worldwide — an Auman Galaxy 9 PHEV heavy truck that has completed on-site testing in Spain and formally entered Europe's premium trunk logistics market, a landmark for a Chinese high-end heavy truck breaking into Europe's mature markets. The Cavon BEACON flagship new energy heavy truck, developed for Europe, also made its overseas debut, demonstrating technical strength with more than 600 km of range and 1.44 MW megawatt-level ultra-fast charging, upgrading Foton from "product export" to "technology export and brand export."

A global certification framework was laid out in parallel to support overseas expansion. At the same fair, Foton Motor and Germany's TÜV Rheinland signed a globalization strategic cooperation framework agreement in Cologne, covering five core areas: intelligent connected vehicles and data security, new energy vehicle testing and certification, multi-market type approval for complete vehicles and components, supply chain quality assurance, and carbon footprint and sustainability. The two sides' more than twenty-year cooperation now enters a systematic new phase that will help Foton products obtain entry qualifications for mainstream global markets faster and provide certification and technical support for breakthroughs in premium markets such as Europe and North America — a key supporting pillar of full value chain globalization.

All-Scenario Penetration: New Energy Accelerates the Shift to Endogenous Growth

In September, new energy commercial vehicles remained the industry's highest-growth segment, with penetration rising continuously as the core driver of the market. Leveraging a full-category product layout and self-developed technology, Foton Motor's new energy business kept growing faster than the industry, accelerating deployment across construction, urban distribution, sanitation and short-haul shuttling, and pushing the business from policy-driven to market-driven. Data show 13,000 new energy vehicles sold across all series in September, up 52% year on year, and 95,000 in January–September, up 28%.

Multiple niche scenarios were broken through, continually widening the field of application. In industrial transport, the electric tractors from the CNPC Kunlun Logistics award will be deployed in batches to oil and gas field transport in northwest China — validating the fitness of new energy heavy trucks for special industrial duty cycles and opening incremental space beyond urban distribution for new energy commercial vehicles. In the sanitation segment, Foton Broek brought its Lingyun series sanitation products to the Guangzhou Environmental Sanitation Expo, offering customized solutions for the diversified needs of urban sanitation operations and covering washing, sweeping, collection and transport across multiple scenarios, further extending the boundaries of new energy specialty vehicles.

High-end products and the technology system kept maturing. The two strategic new products unveiled at Foton's brand day on August 28 — the Cavon Xinghai new energy heavy truck and the Cavon Lefu V7 MPVan — filled in the premium trunk logistics and premium passenger van segments, completing the all-scenario green capacity matrix. Combined with full-lifecycle ecosystem support including ultra-fast charging and battery swapping networks, three-electric system warranties and battery-bank financing schemes, the market competitiveness of the new energy business keeps rising, and the quality and sustainability of its growth strengthen.

Strategy Deepens, Corporate Governance Advances: A Leap in Business Scale

During September, Foton Motor advanced several key moves simultaneously in strategic planning and corporate governance, laying the framework and optimizing resource allocation for medium- and long-term development. On September 29, the company held its second meeting of the tenth board of directors, which formally approved the proposal on formulating the "15th Five-Year" strategic plan. It sets a core target of 1 million complete vehicles sold by 2030 within the 2026–2030 strategic cycle — including 400,000 overseas and 500,000 new energy — while continuing to deepen the three strategic directions of full-scale internationalization, full-scale electrification and full-scale intelligentization, and building out four business segments: complete vehicles, intelligent driving and unmanned equipment, components, and aftermarket, with sustained improvement in profitability.

On September 28, the 7-millionth Forland vehicle rolled off the line at the Forland Global Industry Innovation Center, marking a 30-year journey from zero to seven million units for the Forland business and another historic milestone for Foton's commercial vehicle lines. At the same event, the new Jie Zuo T6 intelligent transfer solution was launched. Built on intelligentized and electrified products, it reshapes the logistics ecosystem for urban distribution and plant-yard transfer, upgrading Forland from single vehicle sales to all-scenario capacity solutions — and a deep implementation of Foton's "full-scale intelligentization" strategy in the light truck and mini-truck segments that will further consolidate Foton's leadership in those niches.

The commercial vehicle industry is now in a critical stage of deepening stock competition and transformation. The mild recovery of "Golden September" is both a market adjustment period and a touchstone for comprehensive corporate strength. With the coordinated thrust of three engines — scenario depth in heavy trucks, overseas expansion, and new energy technology upgrades — Foton Motor continues to build the systemic capability to ride through cycles. Going forward, Foton will deepen its strategies of full-scale internationalization, full-scale electrification and full-scale intelligentization, with independent technology as the core support, scenario-based products as the market lever and a global ecosystem as the growth foundation, further strengthening systemic competitive advantage and leading China's commercial vehicle industry toward high-quality development and global upgrading.