Chi trucks coming to North America?

DALLAS, Tex. — Yes, it appears so, by way of a Texas company called Evcarco.

Evcarco says it will distribute Chinese commercial vehicle maker Foton’s diesel and compressed natural gas (CNG) light and medium-duty trucks through its network of franchised dealerships in North America.

There’s no clear word about Canadian distribution, although Foton America does have city transit buses on the road in cities like Montreal through its Canadian bus distributor, Macnab Bus Sales of Ingersoll.

"Adding a product suitable for commercial application to the mix allows our company to create other streams of potential revenues and provide a better diversification for our dealers," said Dale Long, CEO of Evcarco, which calls itself "the first automotive retail group dedicated to deploying a coast-to-coast network of eco-friendly dealerships and vehicles."

Selling both one and used vehicles, the company offers all manner of alternative-fuel vehicles from cars to trucks — plug-in electrics, hydrogen fuel injection cars, and hybrid systems — from both well-known manufacturers and more obscure eco-friendly vehicle makers you haven’t heard of. 

As North American and European truck OEMs build bigger footprints in China and emerging markets, many industry analysts believe it’s just a matter of time before Chinese medium-duty and heavy trucks are widely available on this side of the pond as well.