Gasgoo.com (Shanghai April 19) - According to its recently released monthly performance review, bus and truck manufacturer Beiqi Foton sold a total of 78,900 vehicles last month, Caijing reported today. The sales result represents a year-on-year decrease of 6.58 percent. Meanwhile, Foton's production amount for the month rose 6.89 percent from the previous year, with a total of 78,000 vehicles made.

Mid to heavy trucks accounted for 11,900 of all March sales, while 63,300 sales were for light trucks. Sales for both vehicle types fell 25.63 percent and 1.62 percent from last March, respectively. The manufacturer also sold a total of 8,226 and 6,090 engines from its Ollin and Cummins lines, respectively.

Foton sold a total of 176,400 vehicles in the whole of the first quarter, one percent less than its sales result from the previous year. Mid to heavy truck and light trucks sales respectively made up 25,200 and 143,200 of that total.

The manufacturer's sales target for the year is set at 870,000 vehicles. However, it remains to be seen how the manufacturer will recover from its lackluster first quarter performance. Foton's engine sales, however, were strong during the quarter, growing 31.7 percent from the previous year.