Foton Brand Day Delivers Four Strategic Breakthroughs: "Cangqiong" Intelligent Driving Architecture, Galaxus R9 Americas Launch, Cavan Xinghai and Lefu V7 Debut
On August 28, Foton Motor's Brand Day and New Product Launch Event was held at the Foton X Lab. The event brought together more than 600 guests, including industrial investors, core customers, supply-chain partners, dealers and mainstream media, and delivered four core outcomes in a single session: the official release of the Cangqiong intelligent driving product architecture platform, the landing of the Galaxus R9 heavy truck in the Americas market, the global premiere of the Lefu V7 MPVan, and the formal market launch of the Cavan Xinghai new-energy flagship heavy truck. Through coordinated progress across intelligent technology iteration, global market breakthrough and new-energy product completion, Foton Motor further consolidated its industry-leader position and delivered important support for the intelligent, green and globalised high-quality transformation of China's commercial vehicle sector.
Ten Years of Autonomous Driving R&D: Cangqiong A/B/C Opens the Era of Scaled Commercial Intelligence
At the event, Tian Juntao, Chief General Engineer of Foton Motor's intelligent driving system development, presented the Cangqiong intelligent driving product architecture platform in detail, marking Foton's comprehensive intelligentisation strategy entering a new phase of systematic, branded and scaled implementation. In April this year, Foton unveiled "Cangqiong" at the China National Convention Center in Beijing — the first large-model-based, full-domain intelligent brand in the commercial vehicle industry — covering the two core domains of intelligent driving and the intelligent cockpit, and establishing a complete technology foundation for commercial intelligence.
China's intelligent driving industry is now reaching a structural inflection point. The rapid普及 of passenger-car driver assistance, mounting pressure on logistics operators to cut costs and raise efficiency, an ageing workforce in commercial vehicle transport and a shortage of new labour have combined to push commercial vehicle intelligent driving from demonstration applications towards scaled real-world deployment.
Foton's ability to scale commercial intelligent driving rests on a decade of continuous investment and staged iteration. From 2016 to 2018 the company was in an exploration phase, introducing China's first autonomous driving truck and pioneering intelligent technology research for commercial vehicles. From 2018 to 2024 it moved into technology accumulation and scenario validation, obtaining the country's first public-road autonomous driving test licence and completing landmark demonstration operations including highway platooning and the Donghai Bridge autonomous project — a leap from laboratory R&D to real-world deployment. From 2024 to 2026 the focus has been commercialisation: highway pilot products have entered volume installation and delivery, and application scenarios have expanded smoothly from freight to passenger transport. With the official launch of the Cangqiong brand, Foton has entered a new stage of full-domain普及 for commercial intelligent driving, with long-accumulated technology assets and massive scenario data forming its core moat in the industry's intelligent upgrade.
Whereas passenger-car intelligent driving emphasises the driving experience, commercial vehicle intelligent driving centres on operational value, evolving around the industry's core needs of improved safety, lower cost and reduced physical strain. Given the complexity of commercial operating conditions, the diversity of vehicle categories and the wide differentiation of scenarios, Foton has self-developed the industry-specific "5+3+1+N" full-stack intelligent driving technology system, creating a complete technical loop of "intelligent chassis support — high-computing platform — AI large-model algorithms — full-scenario application," delivering systematic and upgradable autonomous driving solutions for each commercial segment.
On this foundation Foton has built three product architecture platforms — Cangqiong A, B and C — achieving tiered coverage from closed sites to urban roads, highway trunk routes and full-domain unmanned driving, balancing frontier technology reserves with present-day commercialisation.
Cangqiong A is the company's strategic reserve for advanced autonomous driving, focused on end-to-end unmanned driving on highways and open urban roads, with L3 and L4 capability as its priority. It carries a 1,000+ TOPS high-performance computing platform and a deeply fused multi-sensor perception suite, using an AI predictive large model to continuously learn, generalise and iterate on complex road conditions and long-tail scenarios. Multiple layers of safety redundancy are built across perception and positioning, computing and control, power and communications, and chassis actuation, supported by comprehensive fail-degradation strategies — securing the scaled commercial use of advanced autonomy. The system can be fitted to heavy trucks, light trucks, vans and buses alike, underpinning future full-domain unmanned scenarios.
Cangqiong B is the mass-production solution being deployed today, centred on human-machine co-driving across highways, national roads and urban environments. Highway Assist (HWA) and Highway Pilot (HWP) functions are already in volume production, urban NOA capability is under continuous iteration, and the platform is fully compatible with Foton's entire commercial vehicle range. Addressing the challenges of variable payloads, wide trailer size ranges, differing vehicle envelopes and complex road conditions, Cangqiong B uses customised perception and planning-control algorithms to adapt precisely to different trailer centre-of-gravity positions, turning radii and vehicle boundaries, handling roadworks, night-time glare and close-range lane changes. A scenario-based intelligent fuel-saving strategy, using road prediction and dynamic speed optimisation, improves both safety and efficiency. To date, heavy trucks equipped with the Cangqiong B system have exceeded 3,000 units in volume delivery, accumulated more than 400 million kilometres of safe operation and recorded zero liability accidents, with large-scale real-world data validating the maturity and reliability of the technology.
Cangqiong C targets closed and restricted operating scenarios such as industrial parks, ports, mining areas, airports and sanitation. Built on a dedicated intelligent steer-by-wire chassis with scenario-specific calibration, it optimises payload, speed and control logic for each working mode. The system deeply integrates V2X vehicle-road coordination and links to dispatch, logistics execution and warehouse management back-ends, creating an integrated vehicle-road-cloud operations system that supports multi-vehicle coordinated dispatch, remote monitoring and emergency takeover — moving closed-site transport from single-point unmanned driving to fully unmanned workflows. Thanks to the continuous evolution of the Cangqiong large model, the entire intelligent driving range learns and optimises from real operational data, steadily improving safety, energy efficiency and handling stability.
Anchored on the Overseas "3040" Strategy: Galaxus R9 Officially Lands in the Americas
The event also provided an update on Foton's globalisation progress. Wu Zongtian, President of the Overseas Business Division, presented the company's Overseas 3040 Strategy and announced that the Galaxus R9 premium heavy truck had officially entered the Americas market — a key step in Foton's comprehensive internationalisation strategy and the moment a Chinese home-grown premium heavy truck entered the global premium segment to compete head-to-head with established international brands.
According to company data, Foton's overseas exports reached 109,000 units in the first half of this year, up 39% year on year, with heavy truck exports growing by more than 63% — outpacing the industry. Behind the sustained growth is a decisive shift in Foton's globalisation model: from a single product going overseas to a systematic expansion in which technology, brand, supply chain and services move together.
Guided by the concept of "from one vehicle to one chain," Foton has built a standardised and replicable full-chain overseas operating system across seven core dimensions: product development, supply-chain deployment, quality control, after-sales service, financial support and the aftermarket ecosystem. The company has set clear medium- and long-term targets: overseas annual sales above 400,000 units by 2030, with new-energy products accounting for 30%. Five implementation paths — scaling with quality and efficiency, deep regional cultivation, leadership in the new-energy赛道, whole-ecosystem service empowerment and global network coordination — will drive overseas business from volume-based exporting to high-value, value-added exporting.
The Galaxus R9 entering the Americas is not a simple re-badge of a domestic model. It is an export-exclusive flagship built on Foton's Galaxy intelligent native architecture, carrying more than 90 proprietary core technologies and a hundred-megabit in-vehicle Ethernet architecture, with full-domain OTA support enabling performance evolution across the whole vehicle life cycle. Tailored to Americas long-haul trunk routes and complex mountain terrain, the truck received 28 localisation-specific optimisations, including Grammer premium seats, a thickened sleeper, an in-cab refrigerator, intelligent electronic rear-view mirrors and anti-slip stepped footboards, substantially improving long-distance comfort and operational convenience. Backed by a global connected-vehicle system of "one technology platform plus six overseas data centres," it delivers compliant overseas data operation, intelligent fleet management and predictive vehicle maintenance — a differentiated digital advantage abroad.
To prove the flagship's global adaptability, Foton sent the Galaxus R9 to an extreme proving ground in Spain, benchmarking it against mainstream European heavy trucks under authoritative EU ECE regulations on identical routes, identical loads and identical conditions, covering mountain climbing, highway cruising and rolling-terrain operation. Results showed the Galaxus R9 matching first-tier international performance overall, with fuel consumption 2.16% lower than comparable rivals in the high-frequency highway cruising scenario and fault-free operation throughout. The programme demonstrates that China's premium heavy trucks have moved decisively beyond technology-following status to run parallel with international benchmarks — and lead on certain dimensions.
Foton has now launched a 15,000-kilometre Galaxus R9 appreciation tour, with the convoy crossing 19 cities in 7 Americas countries and covering plateau, desert, rainforest and coastal terrain at their extremes. The Peruvian Andean plateau serves as the benchmark test environment, validating high-altitude power delivery, downhill braking reliability and stability through complex bends — matching the differentiated needs of mining, mountain and infrastructure haulage across the region. The launch ceremony in Peru drew nearly 2,000 overseas customers, partners and industry media, indicating strong market recognition. Foton will continue to develop localised supply-chain, service and compliance systems in the Americas, using a model of "global technology R&D plus deep regional adaptation" to strengthen the voice of Chinese commercial vehicles in the world's premium markets.
Two New Products Announced Together to Complete the Full-Scenario Green Capacity Matrix
Against the backdrop of accelerating new-energy penetration, demand for specialised and refined solutions in commercial vehicle sub-segments continues to rise. At this Brand Day, Foton introduced two strategic new-energy products at once, filling the premium business and passenger-transport and medium-to-long-haul trunk logistics segments, completing its full-scenario green capacity matrix and further accelerating the industry's low-carbon transition.
Cavan Xinghai: the new-energy luxury flagship heavy truck. Qin Zhidong, Vice President of Foton Motor and Chairman of Cavan Auto, officially launched the Cavan Xinghai and announced its pricing. Targeting the industry's hardest problem — new-energy transformation on trunk routes beyond 300 km — the Xinghai forms a "twin-star" pairing with the Auman Galaxy heavy truck, completing Foton's heavy-truck electrification and intelligentisation matrix.
Built on a dedicated battery-electric and hydrogen-capable platform, the battery-electric version breaks through a 600 km range, and the vehicle introduces volume-produced 800 V high-voltage liquid-cooled ultra-fast charging to the industry, taking the battery from 20% to 80% in 18 minutes and directly addressing the refuelling bottleneck of trunk logistics. Thanks to a drag coefficient of just 0.28, an intelligent predictive thermal management system and a high-efficiency integrated electric drive axle, overall energy consumption is 16% lower than comparable products: the 6×4 model achieves a minimum of 115 kWh per 100 km and the 4×2 model 105 kWh per 100 km, saving logistics operators more than RMB 20,000 in operating costs per year. On safety, the truck features a 1,500 MPa ultra-high-strength steel cab, a multi-dimensional intelligent protection system and 22 driver-assistance functions. The cabin applies passenger-car-grade NVH tuning and premium seating, markedly improving long-distance comfort.
Pricing was announced at from RMB 466,000 for the 6×4 350 km+ variant and from RMB 618,000 for the 6×4 550 km+ variant. Supported by more than 500 dedicated new-energy service outlets nationwide, a predictive intelligent maintenance system and multiple launch benefits, the model provides stability across the full life cycle and continues to drive green, efficient upgrading in trunk logistics.
Lefu V7: the world premiere that defines the MPVan category. Ai Ziliang, Executive Deputy General Manager of the Cavan Business Unit, unveiled the globally first-launched Lefu V7, innovatively defining the all-new MPVan category. By merging passenger-car-level intelligence and comfort with the space advantages of a large van, it precisely matches four premium scenarios — route-based passenger transport, tourism and business travel, corporate hospitality and leisure conversion — filling the gap in China's premium new-energy passenger van segment.
The vehicle was specifically calibrated for passenger transport on the dedicated new-energy Master architecture, offering two battery options of 83 kWh and 100 kWh with a maximum CLTC range of 536 km. All variants come standard with 2C ultra-fast charging, completing a 20%–80% top-up in 18 minutes to suit high-frequency intercity operations. A six-in-one integrated high-efficiency electric drive system lowers combined-cycle energy consumption to just 18.2 kWh per 100 km, reducing long-term fleet operating costs. The body uses a cage structure with 68% ultra-high-strength steel and 98% galvanised outer panels for ten-year corrosion resistance, while multi-stage adjustable air suspension and refined NVH tuning bring idle noise down to 44 dB — a library-grade quiet cabin. An L2 driving-assistance system and HD intelligent cockpit provide voice interaction, remote vehicle control, fleet management and seamless OTA upgrades. Warranty and service cover up to 10 years / 1,000,000 km on the three-electric system, backed by an all-weather network of 460 service outlets nationwide, resetting the value standard for the premium new-energy passenger transport market.
Next Stop: Hannover IAA
With this launch event, Foton Motor achieved a concentrated breakthrough across three core capabilities — intelligent technology, global deployment and new-energy products — completing the efficient conversion of frontier self-developed technology into scenario-based, commercialised and value-generating solutions. Building on years of technical accumulation and product strength, Foton will next appear at the IAA Transportation international commercial vehicle show in Hannover, Germany in September, exhibiting globalised products including the Galaxus R9, the Cavan Beacon and the Qimingxing pure-electric light truck alongside its self-developed core battery, motor and control technologies, presenting the global market with a systematic showcase of Chinese commercial vehicle intelligent R&D, green product strength and industrial manufacturing capability.
Looking ahead, Foton Motor will continue to deepen its three core strategies of comprehensive internationalisation, comprehensive new-energy transition and comprehensive intelligentisation, keeping scientific and technological innovation as its central driver while continuously iterating technology, optimising products and upgrading services, steadily advancing towards a world-class commercial vehicle enterprise and leading China's industry towards intelligent, green and globalised high-quality development.
Note: "Cangqiong intelligent driving" is the name of BAIC Foton's intelligent driving business. References to "intelligent driving" technologies represent technology-roadmap reserves and scenario validation only; volume application of functions at each level strictly complies with relevant national and local regulations and is carried out in approved regions and defined scenarios.
Source: Foton Motor News Center, published 28 August 2026 — "Foton Motor Brand Day Lands Multiple Core Achievements, Reshaping the Intelligent, Green and Globalised Landscape of Commercial Vehicles" (original: newsDetail91ccb3.html)
Related coverage on this platform: Foton Cavan Xinghai & Lefu V7 twin launch (30 August) · Foton Qimingxing BEV light truck Yunnan highland trial (4 September) · Foton full matrix at IAA Hannover (14 September)