On the afternoon of December 5, Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co., Ltd., known as the BAIC Group, signed a contract with Changzhou National High-Tech District (CND) to build the BAIC-Foton East China Commercial Vehicle Base. The project covers an area of 1,000 mu (about 66.67 hectares), with a total investment of 3 billion yuan, expecting to have an annual production capacity of 80,000 commercial vehicles.

Xu Heyi, chairman of BAIC Group, Zhang Xiyong, general manager of BAIC Group, Gong Yueqiong, general manager of Beiqi Foton Motor Co., Ltd., Wang Quan, secretary of CPC Changzhou Municipal Committee, and Ding Chun, mayor of Changzhou, attended the signing ceremony.

Beiqi Group will comprehensively upgrade the existing BAIC (Changzhou) Automobile Co., Ltd. to build a high-end medium and light commercial vehicle base. The project is expected to be put into production in the first half of 2022, and all production will be completed in 2025, and a comprehensive integrated commercial vehicle strategic center such as a research and development center, financial center, and marketing center will be set up simultaneously. It is expected that the annual sales will be about 33 billion yuan and the annual tax will be about 1 billion yuan after the production is reached.

Founded in 1958, BAIC Group is a state-owned enterprise and holding company of several automobile and machine manufacturers located in Beijing, China. Its principal subsidiaries include the passenger car maker BAIC Motor; a military vehicle and SUV maker, BAW; and a truck, bus and agricultural equipment maker, Foton Motor. BAIC Group Ranked 124th among Fortune Global 500 for 2018. Foton Motor, established in 1996, is a company which designs and manufactures trucks, buses, sport utility vehicles and agricultural machinery. It is headquartered in Changping, Beijing, and is a subsidiary of the BAIC Group. In global commercial vehicle sector, the annual sales of Foton Motor ranks Top 2 in the world and Top 1 in Asia.