Malagasy President Rajoelina Symbolically Takes Delivery of 312 Foton Buses

During a handover ceremony in Tana on 24 June 2025, Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina symbolically took delivery of 312 Foton buses from Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation (BAIC). The order consists of 12 electric buses with 75 seats and 300 thermal buses with 45 seats and will shipped in batches over the next couple of months.

In his speech, President Rajoelina recalled that he visited the BAIC Foton factory in 2024. He noted the excellent quality of the product and decided to bring these buses to Madagascar. Foton was flexible enough to customize the design for the environment prevailing in Madagascar. The President also highlighted that these 312 new buses will be able to support some 1,500 jobs directly involved in their operationalization.

BAIC Foton Vice-President LIU Guanghua underscored that his company has one of the largest variety of vehicles of all auto makers in China. Foton manufactures a variety of automobiles from cars, vans, buses, pickups to trucks. As part of the deal, Foton is dispatching 10 senior service technicians to Madagascar to assist with the operation and maintenance.

The Malagasy President and Foton VP along with some guests then took a short test drive on board one of the buses from the Ivato Convention and Exhibition Center to the International Airport.

26 June 2025 is the independence day of Madagascar and the Foton buses will officially enter into service on the roads of Tana. On that day, the President proclaimed that passengers can ride for free on board these brand new buses.