FOTON might not be a name that Malaysians are familiar with but like the Chinese automotive brands making strong inroads here in recent years, the commercial vehicle market sees a similar development, albeit with far fewer players.
Foton was introduced to the market in 2011 with Angka-Tan Motor Sdn Bhd launching the range of light and heavy-duty trucks, namely the Aumark and Auman series.
Over the years, the local truck market warmed up to Foton on seeing how reliable the Auman was to improve profits with less downtime, especially the logistics transport area.
This is where the Auman prime movers proved their mettle in long-distance transport runs by crisscrossing the length and breadth of the peninsula well up to expectations.
Angka-Tan Motor says its competitively-priced Auman prime mover makes up 30% of the current market this year (450 trucks as of October to mark a 176% increase over 2023) while enjoying a lower sales volume in the light truck segment.
The former is imported from China while the light truck models are locally assembled; however, with the new Foton factory in Thailand taking off the ground, the Auman would be brought in from there.
There are two variants here with different outputs from the Cummins Euro V engines, ranging from 430hp (316kW) and 2,200Nm torque to 560hp (411kW) and 2,600Nm or torque.
Having launched the eAumark light-duty electric truck in May to favourable response, Angka-Tan plans to introduce the all-electric eAuman sometime next year.
Foton’s global ambitions were clearly outlined during its Asia-Pacific Partners Conference 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand during which it celebrated the factory inauguration and rolled out its one millionth overseas or export truck – the Auman R that is now available with a low C02 Euro 5 engine without losing out on strong engine torque and power.
The factory in the Nakhon Prawet region, south of Bangkok, is a joint venture between Foton Motor and the Charoen Pokphand Group that was established in 2019.
The Covid19 pandemic delayed the factory construction and now with its inauguration, Foton says the partnership aims to position the brand as a top three commercial vehicle player in Thailand and progress from there to serve as a hub to the Asean and neighbouring regions.
This Thailand factory spans 37,000sq m and serves Foton’s goal of being a global and regional manufacturing centre.
The facility, which is the first Chinese truck factory in Thailand, would produce a full range of commercial vehicles such as heavy-duty trucks, light duty trucks, small trucks and buses.
Foton says that under Thailand’s green and electrification goals, it also plans to produce a comprehensive range of new energy commercial vehicles to provide cleaner and more sustainable energy solutions to the region.
The one-millionth overseas truck milestone is said to represent the 20-year evolution of Foton’s global expansion.
For a commercial vehicle company that took off the ground in 1996, it achieved its tenth million vehicle sales volume in 2022 and added another million in 2023, with the momentum continuing this year.
It is ranked as China’s top commercial vehicle exporter for 13 consecutive years with a presence in 130 countries and regions.
Foton’s choice for a regional manufacturing hub in the Asia-Pacific, that involved an investment of more than US$60mil (RM265.8mil), was to cater to the sizeable volume potential of the countries in this sector; it is also making strong inroads in Latin America.
Foton says its advanced intelligent manufacturing systems and stringent quality standards have enabled collaborations with global industry leaders such as Cummins (engines), ZF (transmissions) and CATL (electric vehicle batteries).
It is clearly focused on a dual-path vehicle power strategy to serve the respective consumer needs in the region.
During the Asia Pacific Dealers Conference, participants had the opportunity to drive Foton EVs (eMiler small truck and eToana Pro van) or take a ride in the eAuman.
We were actually looking forward to driving the eTunland pick-up as there are plans to introduce it to the Malaysian market in late 2025 by the appointed van distributor Handal BCM.
It was withdrawn for some reasons and our driving experience was on the eMiler box truck and eToana Pro van.
We didn’t have the motor output figures but both commercial EVs lived up to expectations with strong and seamless performance.
Like EV passenger cars, acceleration was smooth but the eMiler had a distinct whirring note that was intentionally provided to warn pedestrians of an approaching EV truck.
Although, this whirring sound was supposed to taper off after 30kph, it stayed constant during the kilometre-long drive on a course set up with cones.
There was, however, no whirring sound in the eToana Pro although we were told this feature is also part of its system.
Our ride in the eAuman was just as smooth and all the Foton driver had to do was select the drive mechanism via a shift knob, common to EVs, whether cars or commercial vehicles.
There was no multiple gear transmission (that we encountered in ICE heavy-duty trucks during drives in Japan and Sweden), which made the driver’s job a lot simpler.
The huge battery is located behind the driver’s cabin and although no motor output was given, we believed it was similar to the ICE output, if not better.
Foton is so confident of global commercial EV market demand that it targets to sell 100,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs) in 2025.
For the Malaysian market, its commercial EV target is 15% of Foton commercial vehicle sales in 2030.
In the commercial vehicle industry, downtime is a key factor in vehicle purchase and Foton is taking all measures to provide a strong service network and good spare-parts inventory with its respective dealer partners.
That the Foton range of vehicles is making good inroads in Malaysia this year is a clear statement that Foton is doing all the right things to be among the top commercial vehicle brands here.
