Avtotor may start the production of Foton commercial vehicles

Kaliningrad Avtotor plant may start the production of Foton commercial vehicles. This is evidenced by photographs of Chinese trucks in the workshops of the enterprise, which were at the disposal of the Chinese Automobiles portal. Apparently, these are FotoniBlue EV electric trucks with an 87 hp FTTB064 engine. Meanwhile, the press service of Avtotor confirmed that the plant is currently working on several projects for the production of commercial vehicles. We are talking about the segment of light-duty and medium-duty trucks, which are not currently represented in the local market. However, they refused to clarify who will become the technological partner of the enterprise.

The Foton model range in the Russian market is represented by medium-duty trucks of the S series (S085 with a gross weight of 8.5 tons, S100 - 10 tons, S120 - 12 tons), as well as an Auman tractor. Meanwhile, in 2021, Foton left the passenger car segment in Russia: following the Tunland pickup truck, the Sauvana SUV also left the market, which, by the way, was produced at Avtotor’s facilities in 2018-2019. Meanwhile, the cabins of the Chinese automaker Foton are equipped with Valdai Next medium-duty trucks, the mass production of which was launched in 2021 at the facilities of the Gorky Automobile Plant.

Recall that Avtotor Kaliningrad plant has already begun test assembly of Chinese trucks, said Alexei Khramtsovsky, deputy general director of Avtotor, who is responsible for the "commercial" direction at the enterprise, recently. According to him, the production of trucks has been established on the same production line where Hyundai HD commercial vehicles were previously assembled. The official start of production of new trucks is scheduled for the second quarter of 2023, and their certification should be completed by this date. Avtotor will produce trucks with gross weight from 3.5 tons to 12 tons, that is, the whole range of small and medium-sized vehicles. By the end of the year, the company plans to assemble 5,000 trucks of three different Chinese brands.