Beiqi Foton Motor Co., Ltd. was founded in August 28, 1996 and is headquartered in Beijing, China. At present, with a business scope covering full series of commercial vehicles, including medium and heavy-duty trucks, light-duty trucks, VANs, pickups, and buses, and an accumulative production and sales volume of approximate 6,000,000 vehicles, it is China’s commercial vehicle manufacturer with most types and largest scale.



In addition, Foton established zoton Daimler Automotive Co., Ltd. and Foton Cummins Engine Co., Ltd. jointly with Daimler and Cummins respectively — two renowned manufacturers in world’s automotive industry.



At present, Foton possesses nearly 20 complete vehicle plants and engine plants around China, with production capacity of complete vehicles and assorted engines at more than 1,000,000 vehicles per year. Around the globe, Foton has completed the construction of 13 KD plants, possesses R&D branches in Japan, Germany, Taiwan, and other countries and regions, and established Foton Divisions in India and Russia. In terms of energy-saving and new energy automobile fields, Foton keeps developing energy-saving and environment-friendly products and has entered commercialization operation. The energy-saving and new energy vehicles have covered various fields, including trucks, buses, and multifunctional vehicles, and Foton Motor has become China’s largest manufacturer in terms of production and sales volume of new energy vehicles.



Foton owns 6 major industries including automobile and new energy automobile, engineering machinery, new energy, finance, modern logistics, and information technology service, jointly constitute a golden industry chain with complementary advantages, shared resources, and mutual supports. In 2020, Foton will become a world-class mainstream auto with production and sales volume hitting 3,000,000 vehicles and sales revenue hitting RMB 330 billion.



Foton Making



Rapid Progress

Foton may be a relative newcomer to the Saudi Arabia vehicle market, but it is a company making rapid progress in growing production and sales worldwide.



Sales in 2012 totaled 621,000 and Foton now exports to 125 countries worldwide. There are already five plants outside China building these vehicles, with a further 10 under construction. Annual production volumes have climbed from 105,990 units to more than 700,000 units in the past 10 years, with the cumulative production having already passed the five million mark. Current employment exceeds 40,000 people



Research and development (R&D) centers are located in China, Japan, Germany and Taiwan. Foton is well advanced in a 25-year development program which targets growing annual sales volume to 3 million vehicles by 2020.



The core 2020 strategy is known by three numerals — 5, 3, 1 — with the “5” denoting a move into the emerging markets of Russia, India, Brazil, Mexico and Indonesia, while the “3” represents the brand’s entry into the established markets of North America, the European Union and Japan/Korea, with the “1” standing for the establishment of a global business headquarters in China to oversee domestic and worldwide business.



The production launch of a multivehicle plant in Beijing in June 2011 served as a trigger to accelerate globalization. The facility features the latest technology and equipment and has an initial production capacity of 360,000 vehicles a year. All these projects are aimed at uplifting Foton’s quality and technology levels to the highest global standards.



Foton Targets Mainstream



Pick-Ups with New Tunland

Foton is the first of the comparative newcomers to Saudi Arabian from China to target the established brands and models in the local one-ton pick-up market with its all-new Tunland. The Tunland is made at Foton’s ultramodern, multifunction manufacturing plant in Beijing and will be exported in built-up form to these global destinations.

The Tunland not only matches up or beats its premium range rivals in terms of on- and off-road performance, but it also has one of the most spacious interiors in the premium one-ton pick-up market. Its loadbox dimensions are very competitive too.



Foton have made sure the Tunland will be able to take on the global opposition by working with major international component suppliers. For instance, Cummins of the US, transmission and rear axle suppliers Getrag of Germany, and Dana of the US, respectively.



Equipment

There is a comprehensive range of convenience features, including air conditioning, an audio system with MP3 and USB compatibility, electric operation of the windows, with auto down on all of them and auto up and down on the driver’s windows for the Lux model. Rear park distance control is standard on both 4x4 models. The inside of the spacious loadbox has a protective coating. (Payload rating is 925kg).



There is push button operation of the drive selection options; 2High and 4High can be selected at speeds up to 80km/h, but the vehicle must be stationary before selecting 4Low. The electrically-adjustable rear view mirrors have a demister facility on the Lux model. There is an overhead sunglasses holder, six cup holders and remote opening of the fuel flap. Seats in the Comfort model are trimmed with cloth, while those in the top end Lux model have leather trim. Lux models are fitted with 16” aluminum alloy wheels and there is an identical spare wheel.



Safety

The chassis-mounted passenger safety cell meets the US first class safety requirements for pick-up trucks and also meets Euro NCAP requirements. Two front airbags are standard, while the front seat belts are height adjustable and have pre-tensioners. Brakes have an ABS anti-skid system, with electronic brake distribution (EBD). The doors lock automatically as the vehicle gets into motion. There are front and rear fog lamps, height-adjustable halogen headlamps, high level stop lamp, rear mirror and rear window demisters (Lux model only), dipping interior rear view mirror, “door open” warning system, child locks in the rear doors and a lane change feature for the direction indicators.



Security

There is remote central locking with an alarm system and steering lock, “follow me home” lighting which stays on for 60sec. after closing the front door. 



Development

Foton has been involved with its source company for more than four years in the planning and development of the Tunland. This has included arranging product clinics and ensuring the vehicle is well-suited for Saudi conditions.



There was significant input from more than 30 international component suppliers too, including Cummins (engine), Getrag (J358 gearbox), Borg-Warner (transfer case), Dana (rear axle), Bosch and Continental.



The vehicle development program itself complied with the latest international procedures and deliverables according to 16 performance indices, including noise, vibration and harshness (NVH), crash testing, durability and reliability evaluations. The five phases of testing involved 120 prototype and pre-production Tunland pick-ups, which each covered more than 150,000km over rough roads, in mountainous terrain and on motorways.



The 36-month joint development program complied with European technical standards and the crash testing saw the Tunland achieve a four-star rating in the Chinese test procedure, which is similar to the Euro NCAP.



Foton Aumark Light Truck

This truck is the perfect choice for city and Intercity High-End Logistics. It’s equipped with World Advanced Assemblies and Parts, Typical of Refined Process, Comfortable Drive and Ride, and High Compliance with Urban High-End Logistics and Transportation Requirements. It is powered by IISF2.8, and ISF3.8 Cummins Engines, with power output reaching 125kW.



• ISF Engine: Five Main Core Technologies of Turbocharging, Fuel and Combustion Optimization, Intelligent Electronic control, Emission Processing, and Filtration System, Typical of High Efficiency and Durability, as well as Vigorous Power



• ZF Transmission: High-End Car Transmission Assembly Applied to Light Duty Truck for the First Time, Typical of Impact-Free Gear Shift, Easy and Convenient Control, with Transmission Efficiency up to 99%.



• DANA Axle: New Type High-Strength Alloy Axle Housing, Typical of Light Weight, and Bearing Capacity Exceeding Similar Brands by 20%



• The unique EBP Electronic Fuel-Saving Technology, Saving Fuel by 8%-10% as Compared with Similar Products.



• Variable Cross-Section Stress Leaf Spring: Damping Capacity and Load Bearing Capacity Substantially Stronger than Constant Cross-Section Leaf Spring, Typical of Durability through CAE Strength Analysis and 300k km Full-Load Reliability Test on the Complete Vehicle



• British Lotus Optimized and Upgraded High-Speed Reinforced Fully Riveted Chassis, Typical of Relatively Satisfactory Operation Stability and Reliability, Compliant with High Speed and Heavy Load



• Humanized Design: Brand-New Development of Aumark Luxury Seat, according to Human Engineering, to Reveal a Distinct Humanization Concept



Auman:

The Foton Auman is the biggest truck built by Foton. The truck’s main advantages are that it uses Mercedes-Benz technology for its chassis and is powered by a range of Cummins engines (the engine has Daimler and Cummins and WeiChai).



Foton Auman has proved to be of a different breed thanks to its American engines and the German technology used for the chassis.



The Auman is offered with a wide choice of wheel base lengths which range from 3400 to 6000mm and has a gross combination mass of up to 45 tones. In order to meet a wide range of operational needs, the Foton Auman is offered in various models including tractor, platform, dump and other.