BAIC Foton Taps CATL and Sunwoda for 5,000 Megawatt Truck Chargers

BAIC Foton used a corporate event in Beijing to unveil what it calls its 'Supercharging' strategy: a charging ecosystem for electric trucks built on vehicles, chargers, the power grid and the cloud. The Chinese commercial vehicle maker, also known as Beiqi Foton Motor, has pulled together battery makers CATL and Sunwoda, charging network operator TELD and charging hardware firm Hunan Jingneng New Energy Technology for an industry alliance. Their stated goal is 5,000 standardised, integrated charging stations — with no timeline attached.

The company's international ambitions come with a deadline. BAIC Foton aims to install more than 3,000 charging stations abroad by 2027, targeting Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Africa and Europe. The ecosystem runs on four platforms: connected vehicle data, charging processes, vehicle-to-grid energy interactions and battery management. Foton says the system leans on more than 3.5 million connected vehicles, 3PB of daily data processing and over 770,000 linked charging terminals.

On the vehicle side, the headline act is the Aumark Z, a light-duty truck on a dedicated electric platform with megawatt charging capability. Foton says it peaks at 1.05 MW and, with an 8C charging rate, goes from 20 to 80 per cent in eight minutes. Two heavy-duty models get megawatt charging ports: the Auman Galaxus and the Cavan Beacon. Foton did not give peak power or charging times for those, only that roughly 100 km can be recharged in six minutes, aimed at express logistics, refrigerated transport, port operations and bulk logistics.

The Cavan Beacon name isn't fresh. Foton already showed a derivative of that platform at IAA Transportation, a heavy-duty truck base for low- and zero-emission drivetrains, with a battery-electric and a hydrogen-powered 40-tonne truck announced on it so far. For the charging side, Foton presented a station in Beijing with a 10-kV AC input and a 1,000-V DC output that can pair with PV systems and stationary storage. Dual-gun vehicles can pull power through two cables at once.

Qin Zhidong, Vice President of BAIC Foton, said the fast-charging ecosystem is meant to 'improve logistics efficiency, reduce operating costs, and support greener commercial transportation worldwide.' He also pointed to virtual power plants, battery leasing and second-life battery concepts as further openings.