"Golden September" Brings a Mild Recovery: Foton Motor Sells Over 55,000 Units in September as Strategy and Technology Pay Off

In September, China's commercial vehicle industry entered its traditional "golden September" sales season. As the extreme heat receded, construction activity resumed, autumn harvest transport began and e-commerce pre-stocking demand came online, end-user markets showed a seasonal, mild recovery. However, constrained by a slow pace of macro demand repair, freight rates remaining at low levels and a high year-ago base, the overall rebound was weaker than in previous cycles, and competition continued to concentrate among leading companies with deep technology reserves and extensive global footprints.

Against this backdrop of a weak recovery, Foton Motor sustained its steady growth momentum, outperforming the industry average on the strength of a resilient heavy-truck core business, high overseas growth and rapid new energy penetration. According to the latest production and sales data: Foton Motor sold more than 55,000 vehicles in September and nearly 518,000 units in the January–September period, up 7.9% year on year. Overseas sales rose 38.9% year on year in September and 43.6% cumulatively; the new energy business grew 52% in September and 28% year to date. Sales volumes continued to rank first in China's commercial vehicle industry, further consolidating the company's leadership position.

Scenario Engineering Plus Technology Iteration: Heavy Trucks Build a Cycle-Resilient Base

In September, the domestic heavy-truck market recovered month on month as construction work restarted and logistics operators prepared for peak season. Yet pressured by last year's high base and soft demand for diesel models, the sector still declined year on year, with market divergence concentrated in scenario-adaptation capability and technology depth. Foton's heavy-truck business, supported by its multi-powertrain product matrix and intelligent technology roadmap, replaced homogeneous price competition with scenario-specific engineering, demonstrating stronger resilience to the cycle. Heavy truck sales reached 12,000 units in September and 125,000 units in the first nine months, up 20.4% year on year.

Precision execution at the end-user level, capturing peak-season niche demand. On September 18, 100 Auman Galaxy 5M 4×2 diesel heavy trucks were officially delivered to a leading Beijing express logistics company. The vehicles were exclusively calibrated for the high-frequency, long-haul, time-critical operating requirements of express delivery, and will be deployed across the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region and the national trunk express network, further strengthening Foton's advantage in trunk-logistics scenarios. In the same month, Foton Motor won a tractor-head procurement bid from the Tarim Transport Branch of PetroChina Kunlun Logistics, covering 15 vehicles across battery-electric and CNG powertrains to serve material transport at oil and gas fields in northwest China — evidence of the energy sector's recognition of Foton's multi-energy product strategy.

Continuous product and technology iteration to close scenario gaps. On September 21, Foton Auman officially launched the Galaxy 5M 513 kWh bottom-swap battery electric heavy truck. Targeting the pain points of high-frequency shuttling at ports and industrial parks, it adopts a bottom-swapping architecture with re-energizing in as little as five minutes, combined with a large-capacity battery pack and a high-efficiency integrated electric drive system. The model effectively addresses the industry challenges of time-consuming recharging and low operating efficiency for electric heavy trucks, completing Foton's full-scenario new energy heavy-truck matrix.

Intelligent technology and in-house core components continue to widen the long-term moat. The Cangqiong (Sky) intelligent driving system has moved into sustained commercial use, with Auman Galaxy intelligent driving heavy trucks now delivering more than 3,000 units cumulatively to mainstream logistics companies across China's core transport corridors. Meanwhile, Foton's self-controlled heavy-truck powertrain continues to gain ground: the fitted volume of the Foton–ZF integrated electric drive axle keeps expanding, further strengthening independent control over core components.

From Product Exports to System Exports: Globalization Builds the Second Growth Curve

With domestic recovery running flat, exports have become the key lever for leading commercial vehicle makers to smooth cyclical volatility — yet most peers remain at the primary stage of simply shipping products. Foton Motor has ranked first in China's commercial vehicle exports for fifteen consecutive years, and its overseas business achieved several landmark breakthroughs in September, ranging from localized system upgrades in emerging markets to high-end technological entry into mature markets, pushing globalization from "product export" deep into "full value-chain export." Monthly vehicle exports reached nearly 19,000 units, up 38.9% year on year; cumulative exports for January–September totaled nearly 169,000 units, up 43.6%. The export mix continued to improve, with the share of high-value products such as new energy models and premium heavy trucks rising steadily.

Localization steps up as emerging markets are cultivated in depth. On September 5, Forland Qihang (Qingdao) International Trade Co., Ltd. — the overseas operating entity of Foton's Forland business unit — was officially unveiled and launched in the Qingdao Free Trade Zone, marking the start of a systematic operating phase for Forland's international expansion. At the launch ceremony, an 800-unit commercial vehicle order was signed with a Ghanaian partner, covering both diesel and new energy products, which will deepen Foton's footprint in Africa and enhance local delivery and service capability.

Breakthroughs in mature markets take technology and brand overseas together. On September 14, the 2026 IAA Transportation show opened in Hannover, Germany, with Foton Motor exhibiting at its largest scale ever — seven new energy complete vehicles and six self-developed core component systems under the theme "EASY MOVE (Freeing the Movement of Everything)", spanning heavy trucks, light trucks, vans, pickups, buses and special-purpose vehicles. During the show, Foton unveiled its new European strategy and held the delivery ceremony for its 13 millionth vehicle worldwide — an Auman Galaxy 9 PHEV heavy truck that has completed on-road testing in Spain and formally enters Europe's premium trunk logistics market, a landmark moment for Chinese high-end heavy trucks breaking into mature European markets. The CAVAN BEACON flagship new energy heavy truck, developed for Europe, also made its overseas debut, showcasing its capabilities with a range of more than 600 km and 1.44 MW megawatt charging, lifting Foton from "product export" to "technology export and brand export."

A global certification framework is deployed in parallel to support overseas expansion. At the same event, Foton Motor and Germany's TÜV Rheinland signed a framework agreement on global strategic cooperation in Cologne, covering five core areas: intelligent connected vehicles and data security, new energy vehicle testing and certification, market access for complete vehicles and components across multiple countries, supply chain quality assurance, and carbon footprint and sustainability. Extending a partnership of more than twenty years into a new systematic phase, the collaboration will help Foton products obtain mainstream global market access more quickly and provide certification and technical support for entry into premium markets in Europe and North America — a key supporting element of full value-chain globalization.

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

In September, new energy commercial vehicles remained the segment posting the strongest year-on-year growth, with penetration rising continuously and becoming the core driver of the market. Leveraging a full-category product lineup and self-developed technology, Foton Motor's new energy business continued to grow faster than the industry, accelerating deployment in construction transport, urban distribution, sanitation and short-haul shuttling, and driving the business from policy-driven to market-driven growth. Data shows: new energy vehicle sales across the full portfolio reached 13,000 units in September, up 52% year on year, and 95,000 units in the first nine months, up 28%.

Multiple niche scenarios broken through, continuously widening the application boundary. In industrial transport, the electric tractor heads awarded under the PetroChina Kunlun Logistics bid will be deployed in batches at oil and gas fields in northwest China, validating the fitness of electric heavy trucks for specialized industrial duty cycles and opening incremental new energy volume beyond urban distribution. In sanitation vehicles, Foton Brock presented its Lingyun series at the Guangzhou Environmental Sanitation Expo, offering customized solutions for the diversified needs of urban sanitation operations across washing, sweeping, collection and other scenarios, further extending the reach of new energy special-purpose vehicles.

High-end products and the technology system continue to mature. The two strategic new models unveiled at Foton's brand day on August 28 — the CAVAN Xinghai new energy heavy truck and the CAVAN Lefu V7 MPVan — filled in the segments of premium trunk logistics and premium passenger vans, completing the full-scenario green capacity matrix. Combined with ultra-fast charging and battery-swapping network deployment, three-electric-system warranty services and battery-bank financing schemes across the full lifecycle, the market competitiveness of the new energy business keeps rising, and the quality and sustainability of its growth continue to strengthen.

Strategic Layout Deepens as Business Scale Jumps Forward

In September, Foton Motor advanced several key initiatives in strategic planning and corporate governance in parallel, strengthening 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 defines the 2026–2030 strategic cycle with a core target of one million complete vehicles sold by 2030, including 400,000 units overseas and 500,000 new energy units, while deepening the three strategic directions of "full-scale internationalization, full-scale new energy transition and full-scale intelligentization," and laying out four business segments — complete vehicles, intelligent driving and unmanned equipment, components, and aftermarket — to continuously improve profitability.

A milestone in scale. On September 28, the 7 millionth Forland vehicle rolled off the line at the Forland Global Industrial 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 event, the company also released its new intelligent transfer solution (Jiezuo T6), built on intelligent and new energy products, restructuring the logistics ecosystem for urban distribution and in-plant transfer, upgrading the Forland business from single vehicle sales to full-scenario capacity solutions. This also represents a deep implementation of Foton's "full-scale intelligentization" strategy in the light truck and mini truck segments, further consolidating its leadership in those niches.

The commercial vehicle industry is currently at a critical stage of deepening stock competition and transformation. The mild recovery of the "golden September" peak season is both a market adjustment period and a touchstone for a company's comprehensive strength. With the synergistic drive of three engines — scenario engineering in heavy trucks, overseas market 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, new energy transition and intelligentization, with proprietary technology as the core support, scenario-based products as the market lever and a global ecosystem as the growth foundation, further strengthening its systematic competitive advantage and leading China's commercial vehicle industry toward high-quality development and global upgrading.