Foton’s established in Chile, and it’s one of the bigger brands in the nation with over 300 e-buses in operation. The Chinese brand has recently received an order for over a thousand e-buses, 1,022 units, of its zero-emission models which is its biggest to date.
According to sources, the new order is worth about 1.6 billion RMB, which is the equivalent to about P13 billion Philippine Pesos, or over $235 million USD. This is also the largest order to date outside of China, and yet another order with over a thousand units expected. The last order was from India back in 2020.
In the Philippines, some of Foton’s more popular products include the Tornado and the Hurricane for commercial applications. In terms of passenger transportation, however, the company’s aiming to modernize our public utility jeepneys.
As for the models specified in the order, there was no mention made as to the technology in the buses or the type of buses Chile is expecting. According to the photo, however, it looks like at least one of the buses will be a single-deck variant that’s about 10 to 12 meters long. The photo also shows that it’s entering a shipping vessel.
Once delivered, the buses will make up the biggest fleet in Latin America. The order is also part of the continued development of urban transport in the country, brought on by the Chilean Ministry of Transport back in 2018. Because of the development, many full-electric diesel buses have been purchased by Chile.
Chile also plans to decarbonize its transportation system by 2040. Foton’s e-buses will be part of the change to bring zero-emission transport to the nation. There was no mention yet as to the number of orders fulfilled but we do know that the units will be arriving via sea freight.
