Piaggio Group and Foton Motor Group have extended their electric light commercial vehicle (e-LCV) joint venture (JV).

Piaggio CEO Michele Colaninno and Foton Motor vice president Ma Rentao signed a contract in Beijing for the joint development of a new range of electric Porter models.

The signing ceremony was attended by the Piaggio chairman Matteo Colaninno and Foton chairman Chang Rui.

The new JV will widen the Piaggio commercial vehicle range with two new four wheel variants designed for intra city mobility with compact dimensions and payload capacity of at least one tonne which is particularly high for this vehicle class.

The new range of Porter EVs will be made in Italy at the Piaggio Pontedera factory.

European sales will begin by the end of 2024 through the established dealer network.

The new Porter models will have active and passive vehicle safety systems, including advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). The new technology will also be offered on combustion engine variants.

This latest agreement consolidate the initial JV which led to the 2021 introduction of the first city truck, the Porter NP6, a compact bi-fuel model which Piaggio claimed had been well received in European markets.

Piaggio once assembled small Daihatsu vans under licence.