Daimler Invests Big in China
BEIJING — Daimler, the world’s biggest truck maker and the company behind Mercedes, Freightliner, Western Star, Detroit and Fuso, has announced a $166-million investment in a new engine-making plant in China.
According to Bloomberg News, once the new facility in the Hairou district of Beijjng is up and running in 2014, it should be capable of producing up to 45,000 engines a year.
The project is a joint venture with China’s Beiqi Foton Motor Co. and the engines will be used in the Auman-branded trucks.
Foton and Daimler formed a joint venture in 2010 to build Auman trucks.
Daimler’s move is seen by industry watchers as a response to Volkswagen’s aggressive expansion efforts since VW merged Scania and Man last year.
The two-branded company is large enough to compete with industry giants Volvo and Daimler and as recently as this week, the Financial Times of London reported that VW is eyeing Navistar.
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