Maker record
Maisto
Maisto is a vehicle-replica brand of Hong Kong’s May Cheong Group. Its range includes die-cast model cars and motorcycles, radio-control vehicles, and other vehicle replicas. The brand name was registered in 1990, and that year the group introduced a 1:18 scale Mercedes-Benz 500 SL. Maisto International Inc. was established in Fontana, California, in 1992. The brand’s products span play and collector markets.
- Founded
- 1990
- Countries
- China, United States
- Locations
- Hong Kong · 1967 · Fontana, California · 1992
- Founders
- P.Y. Ngan · Y.C. Ngan
The story of Maisto
May Cheong Group began in Hong Kong in 1967 as May Cheong Plastic Toy Factory. The family-owned group was started by brothers P.Y. Ngan and Y.C. Ngan, with Katherine Ngan joining in the early 1970s. The group later established the Maisto brand: its name was registered in 1990, when it introduced a 1:18 scale Mercedes-Benz 500 SL. In 1992, Maisto International Inc. was established in Fontana, California.
Maisto became a principal vehicle-replica brand of the group, whose products include die-cast and radio-control models. The group’s other brands include Bburago, Polistil, Muscle Machines and BB Junior; Bburago and Polistil were acquired in 2005, and BB Junior launched in 2017. May Cheong Group also makes replicas beyond consumer vehicle models: in 2014 it was selected to produce replicas of Yutu, China’s first lunar rover. The group remains headquartered in Hong Kong and reports manufacturing facilities in China.