Guangdong Foday Automobile Co., Ltd., trading as Foday, is an automotive manufacturing company based in Guangdong, China. With roots going back to 1988, it used to be known as Nanhai Automobile. Its principal products are vehicles, primarily pick-up trucks and SUVs, automotive parts and stampings. Its products have been sold in various countries under the Fudi and Foday brands.[2]
History
In the late 1970s and '80s, the Nanhai District in Foshan, Guangdong province, China, saw the emergence of a fledgling car industry. Among the nascent enterprises was the Nanhai Automobile factory, founded in 1988, which initially thrived under the auspices of a deal with Nanjing Automobile to assemble truck bodies. However, mismanagement and economic stagnation in the late 1990s led to the factory's downturn, culminating in significant losses by 1999.[3]
Facing financial turmoil, the factory underwent a management buy-out led by Ye Qing, its general manager. Ye orchestrated a deal with the provincial government, which took on the factory's debt while Ye acquired its intangible assets under the condition of retaining its workforce. With backing from key partners like BAIC Foton and Lanshi Machinery Factory, Ye rebranded the company as Nanhai Foday Automobile in 2001, and shortly after as Guangdong Foday Automobile.