A delivery ceremony for more than 100 units of FOTON's 12-meter city buses bound for South Asia was held in Beijing on June 18. Senior executives from BAIC FOTON, a delegation from the transport authority of a South Asian country, and local dealer representatives attended the event together. This delivery marks a key phased achievement in BAIC FOTON's scaled market expansion across South Asia.

This South Asian market serves as a key regional transport hub, where its public transport system has long faced dual challenges of insufficient transport capacity and aging fleets, generating steady demand for passenger vehicle replacements. Drawing on tailor-made complete vehicle solutions and full-process one-stop delivery services, BAIC FOTON delivered a batch of vehicles to the region in the early stage, which have received positive operational feedback. This has built solid trust for the follow-up repeat order, enabling large-scale deployment of Chinese bus brands in the local public transit market.

To accommodate South Asia's distinctive operating conditions including high temperatures, heavy rainfall and complex road surfaces, the delivered vehicles have undergone systematic adaptive development in overall design: A fully load-bearing reinforced structure and high-strength steel rectangular tube frame are adopted to boost body rigidity and structural durability. Triple anti-corrosion treatment is applied to all exterior panels to enhance weather resistance. Equipped with a diesel engine paired with an AT automatic transmission integrated with a hydraulic retarder, together with FOTON's e-AIR intelligent electronic thermal management system, the vehicles maintain stable power output while cutting fuel consumption, vibration and noise. The EBS system is upgraded with a door-opening braking function to improve safety margins during high-temperature operation. An ADAS intelligent driving assistance system is also fitted, delivering technical support for the intelligent upgrading of local public transport fleets.

At the delivery ceremony, Han Dong, President of FOTON AUV New Energy Buses, stated that this order stands as a landmark project reflecting BAIC FOTON's long-term development in the South Asian market, as well as a meaningful symbol of friendly bilateral cooperation in the public transport sector. BAIC FOTON plans to keep increasing investment in this market, offering full-lifecycle maintenance support. The company will maintain close alignment with local road network construction and public transit renewal plans, expand cooperation across passenger transport, logistics and other segments, and jointly build a sustainable transportation ecosystem.

Liu Guanghua, Vice President of Business at BAIC FOTON Overseas Division, stated that this order represents the largest bus export deal from China to the local market and serves as an important milestone for the upgrading of the local public transport system. Moving forward, BAIC FOTON will continue to cultivate the local market, assign resident engineers on-site, and coordinate with local partners to guarantee spare parts supply, supporting the intelligent and comfortable transformation of local public transportation.

Senior officials from local transport authorities, the CEO of the public transport operator and dealer representatives delivered speeches respectively. They spoke positively about the vehicles' operational performance to date, and expressed expectations to expand cooperation across more routes and regions, jointly improving the standard of local public transport services.

This batch delivery represents a phased achievement of BAIC FOTON's long-term development in South Asian markets. It also reflects the comprehensive strengths of Chinese bus manufacturers in product localization, supply chain stability and overseas after-sales support. Going forward, BAIC FOTON will keep refining its global industrial layout, advance core vehicle technologies and product competitiveness, and deepen industrial collaboration with real-economy sectors across countries along the Belt and Road. With localized Chinese mobility solutions, the brand will support the upgrading of public transport worldwide and facilitate high-quality overseas expansion of China's automotive industry.