Daimler Chrysler Buys into Beijing Minivan Maker

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Daimler Chrysler Motor Corporation will become a major shareholder in the Beijing-based Beiqi Foton Motor Company through a share-purchase contract worth 818 million yuan (US$105 million).

Under the contract, Daimler Chrysler will buy 297 million shares in Foton, a 24-percent holding, at 2.75 yuan per share, said a statement from Foton, a leading minivan manufacturer, on Tuesday.

The two sides also signed an alliance agreement to cooperate in heavy-duty truck manufacturing.

Daimler Chrysler is speeding up its expansion in China. It has just joined Taiwan China Motor Corporation and Fujian Motor Group in setting up a joint venture in southeast China's Fujian Province.

The new company, Daimler Chrysler Light-Duty Motor Company, involves a total investment of 200 million euros with Fujian Motor Corporation holding 50 percent of the shares, Daimler Chrysler Motor AG 33.78 percent and Taiwan China Motor Corporation 16.22 percent. It will have an annual production capacity of 40,000 medium-sized and light-duty vehicles.

Daimler Chrysler also reached an agreement in principle with Chery, a carmaker based in the eastern Anhui Province, allowing Chery to produce vehicles under Chrysler Group brands.

(Xinhua News Agency January 17, 2007)