Shanghai (ZXZC)- BAIC Foton Motor Co., Ltd. (Foton Motor), a Beijing-headquartered commercial vehicle (CV) manufacturer majority-owned by BAIC Group, announced on Dec. 6 it intends to build a joint venture with CATL to work on power battery leasing business.

The joint venture, named Foton Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (Foton CATL) temporarily, will feature a registered capital of 200 million yuan ($28.738 million), 50% of which will be contributed by Foton Motor's own funds, according to the CV maker's statement.

Photo credit: Foton Motor 

The yet-to-be-built company will engage in the operational leasing business for new energy vehicle (NEV) batteries. Foton Motor added that the joint venture will help it enhance the market competitiveness of its NEV products and boost NEV sales, as well as contribute to building a NEV business eco-chain and exploring the market of the operation based on NEV-dedicated scenarios, so as to earn a bigger share in the NEV market.

In addition, Foton Motor also expects to grasp battery-related core resources through the joint venture.

As publicly disclosed, Foton Motor began the R&D of NEV technologies as far back as 2003, and launched an industrial base for NEV design and manufacturing in 2008. In 2018, the company released the "IBLUE" strategy, under which an independent business unit was established to focus on the strategic planning, R&D, and sale for Foton Motor's new energy CV business.