Fujian Benz Automotive Co., Ltd., formerly Fujian Daimler Automotive Co., Ltd., is a light commercial vehicle manufacturing company based in
Fuzhou
Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute ...
, and a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
between Daimler Vans Hong Kong Limited (a joint venture of the
Mercedes-Benz Group
The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacture ...
and
China Motor Corporation of Taiwan),
BAIC Motor
BAIC Motor Corporation Limited is a Chinese automaker headquartered in Beijing. The H shares (foreigner share in offshore market) of the company were traded in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It was part of BAIC Group, itself a subsidiary of Beiji ...
Corporation Limited (35%), and Fujian Motor Industry Group Co., Ltd (15%).
History
The company was founded in June 2007 as Fujian Daimler Automotive Co. by Fujian Motor Industry Group (50%), Daimler (34%) and China Motor Corp. (16%).
It began construction of an assembly plant in the Qingkou Investment Zone,
Fúzhōu in October 2007. The 660,000 square meter plant would cost over
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
200 million (US$284 million).
With 2,800 employees, the plant has a capacity of 40,000 vehicles a year.
For establishing of the joint venture and building the plant facilities, Fujian Motor Industry Group Company and the Hong Kong Daimler Vans Limited invested a total of
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
434,600,000.
Series production of Fujian Daimler's first product range, the
Viano transporter, began in April 2010.
In November, 2011, Sprinter was launched. Fujian Daimler changed its name to Fujian Benz in March 2012 for better brand recognition among Chinese consumers as Daimler is not as well known as Benz.
In March 2013 Fujian Benz opened a new product development center in Fuzhou, constructed at a cost of around RMB 500 million (approximately €60 million).
[ ]
In Mar. 2016, Fujian Benz launched three V-Class models, including V260, V260 Exclusive and V260L Exclusive.
Operations
Fujian Benz covers 660,000 square meters, including 330,000 square meters for Phase I and a construction area of 162,000 square meters. The company currently employs 1,600 workers.
The annual production capacity of Phase I is 40,000 units.
At one time, China was the largest market of the Viano.
At its production plant in Qinkou, Fujian Benz operates a product development center which covers approximately 11,000 square meters of built-up area, as well as a 53,000 square meter proving ground including a 1,400 meter circuit.
In an industrial park adjacent to the Qinkou production plant, Fujian Benz operates an EMC lab, an exhaust gas test lab, and a chassis dynamometers facility, which cover a combined built-up area of around 8,000 square meters.
The product development center, with a total investment of 500 million rmb, was put into operation in 2013.
Current production
Fujian Benz currently produces the following vehicles:
梅赛德斯-奔驰威霆
Mercedes-Benz Vito
File:Mercedes Benz V-Klasse (13666332274).jpg, 2016–present
梅赛德斯-奔驰V级
Mercedes-Benz V-Class
File:Mercedes-Benz Sprinter W906 China 2015-04-08.jpg, 2011–present
梅赛德斯-奔驰凌特
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
Former production
File:Beijing 999 Ambulance Service, Mercedes Vito.jpg, 2010–2015
梅赛德斯-奔驰威霆
Mercedes-Benz Vito
File:Mercedes-Benz Viano facelift China 2015-04-06.jpg, 2011–2015
梅赛德斯-奔驰唯雅诺
Mercedes-Benz Viano
References
External links
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{{Automotive industry in the People's Republic of China
Car manufacturers of China
Truck manufacturers of China
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2007
Chinese companies established in 2007
Mercedes-Benz Group joint ventures
Companies based in Fuzhou