Foton Auman History

The first Foton Auman rolled off the Beijing line in August 2002, giving Foton its entry into China's heavy-duty truck segment. Early models targeted domestic construction and long-haul logistics, segments that were booming as China's infrastructure buildout accelerated through the 2000s.

In 2012 Foton and Daimler AG sealed a landmark 50/50 joint venture — Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Co. (BFDA) — investing 6.35 billion RMB to co-develop and build Auman trucks with Mercedes-Benz technology and engineering. The partnership significantly raised Auman's quality and technology ceiling and gave Daimler a manufacturing base for its commercial vehicles in China.

The modern Auman lineup spans the EST, ETX, GTL, and Galaxy series, covering tractors, heavy-cargo, dump, and specialty builds. A German museum — the Speyer Technology Museum — collected an Auman ETX in 2006 as a representative industrial artefact, a recognition unusual for a Chinese commercial vehicle brand of the era.