Articles

Chinese heavy trucks now dominate global commercial-vehicle trade, with the "Big Five" OEMs — SINOTRUK, FAW, SHACMAN, DONGFENG and FOTON — shipping hundreds of thousands of units to more than 150 countries. This guide ranks the top five export truck models by real 2025–2026 shipment data, breaks down their flagship series, core powertrain advantages and strongest regional markets, and explains how fleet owners and parts dealers can choose the right platform based on parts commonality and service radius. As Chinese makers push into NEV, hybrid and high-horsepower segments, the export leaderboard is reshaping how the world buys commercial trucks.

On September 15, a delegation from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), led by Guo Shougang, Director-General of the Equipment Industry Department I, and Ma Chunsheng, Director of its Automotive Development Division, visited the Foton Motor booth at IAA Mobility in Hannover. The delegation toured Foton's full range of exhibits and spoke highly of the company's innovation in independently developed core technologies, its systematic approach to overseas expansion, and its progress in green commercial vehicles. MIIT encouraged Foton to keep deepening its engagement in global markets, reinforcing the significance of IAA as a showcase for Chinese commercial vehicle brands competing on a worldwide stage.

On June 22, BAIC Foton and ZF Friedrichshafen reached a new milestone in their strategic partnership as the first AxTrax 2 electric drive axle rolled off the line at their joint-venture plant in Jiaxing. The product, featuring a 930V silicon carbide inverter, 210 kW continuous output, and 26,000 N·m peak torque, marks a key step in BAIC Foton's push for core new-energy component self-sufficiency and supports the commercial vehicle industry's transition from fuel-driven to electric-drive powertrains.

BAIC Foton and ZF Friedrichshafen celebrated the rollout of the first AxTrax 2 electric drive axle at their joint venture factory in Jiaxing, China, on June 22, marking a significant milestone in their strategic partnership. The AxTrax 2 platform features a 930V silicon carbide inverter delivering 210 kW continuous power and 26,000 N·m peak torque, designed for medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles. This achievement represents BAIC Foton's transition from traditional powertrain collaboration to next-generation electric drive technology, supporting China's commercial vehicle industry in accelerating its shift from fuel-driven to electric-driven systems as part of the 15th Five-Year Plan goals.

China's truck exports surpassed one million units for the first time in 2025, reshaping the global commercial vehicle landscape. This article ranks the five Chinese truck models that dominate overseas markets — Sinotruk HOWO/Sitrak, FAW Jiefang J7 & J6P, SHACMAN Delong X-series, Dongfeng Tianlong KX/GX, and Foton Auman EST — with real export data, key specifications, target regions, and practical buying advice for fleet owners and parts dealers in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

From a single shipping container in Jinan in 2005 to exports across thirty countries, this playbook distills twenty years of heavy truck parts trading into Africa. It covers startup capital, which platforms to stock deep, how to vet factories, value-based pricing, logistics decisions, marketing channels and the customer relationships that actually sustain a B2B parts business.

A blown cylinder head gasket at a Ghana granite quarry proves that cooling system neglect costs African fleets far more than any mechanical failure. Part 1 of this series breaks down the six core components of closed-loop cooling systems on HOWO, Shacman and XCMG heavy trucks — radiator, thermostat, water pump, fan clutch, expansion tank and pipelines — and explains how each one fails under tropical dust and heavy loads.

This second half of our cooling system series examines the region-specific failure modes that destroy heavy-truck engines on African mining and construction sites — dust blockage, coolant scale, invisible air locks and slipping fan clutches. It also exposes the everyday maintenance mistakes that cause over 70% of cooling system damage, and provides a practical daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual inspection schedule for site fleets.