Foton Tunland ute upgraded for 2019

Foton Motor Australia has launched an upgraded 2019 Foton Tunland ute with revised exterior styling, but says it will be replaced by an all-new model with cutting-edge safety, technology and Australian development input in the second quarter of 2021.

Available from June, the MY19 Foton Tunland (pictured here) brings new headlights and daytime running lights, a new front bumper and grille, and chunkier wheel-arch flares.

The single Tunland dual-cab 4x4 diesel automatic variant is priced at $34,990 drive-away (up $1000), or $33,990 for ABN holders.

Foton says that makes it a rival not for utes from mainstream or cut-price brands, but upstream diesel/auto 4x4 twin-cabs like the new SsangYong Musso ELX ($35,990 drive-away) and LDV T60 Luxe ($36,831 drive-away).

It also lists the dual-cab Mitsubishi Triton GLX+ diesel auto, at $42,490 drive-away, as a key competitor – but not the market's cheapest crew-cab diesels such as the Great Wall Steed (from $30,990), Mahindra Pik-Up (from $29,990) and JMC Vigus, which was priced from $27,990 drive-away before it was discontinued.

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There are no interior or mechanical changes for the MY19 Foton Tunland, whose major drawcard is its 130kW/365Nm 2.8-litre four-cylinder Cummins ISF turbo-diesel, ZF six-speed automatic transmission, Borg Warner dual-range transfer case and Dana limited-slip rear differential.

Nor are there any upgrades for its 3000kg tow rating, 950kg payload, three-year/100,000km warranty or standard safety equipment list, which extends to Bosch stability control and anti-skid brakes, twin front airbags, reversing camera and three-star ANCAP safety rating (2012).

As such, the factory-owned distributor Foton Motor Australia (FMA) has modest sales aspirations for the Foton Tunland in 2019, when it expects to sell just 250 examples and expand its national dealer network from 22 to 30 outlets.

However, that will all change by mid-2021, when Foton plans to have 40 Australian dealers ready for its launch of the next-generation Foton Tunland, which FMA general manager Robert Zhang said will be larger and subject to an Australian development testing program starting later this year.

Zhang also said that to be competitive in Australia's large and hotly contested pick-up market, the redesigned Foton Tunland will need to tick all the right boxes, including a five-star ANCAP safety rating and a five-year warranty.

"In this market you have to win everything; you can't lose out on any safety features," he said.

"Next-gen [Tunland warranty] might be changed to four or five years according to common practice in the country. We definitely need to plan for the next-gen … make it full of safety features [to achieve a five-star] ANCAP rating.

"This segment is very competitive. If you cannot do good, then you do nothing."

One thing that may be missing from the next-generation Foton Tunland line-up is a single-cab derivative, at least in Australia, where a two-seat model was briefly available alongside the four-door.

"The single-cab we brought in two years ago, but the cost-effectiveness is a real problem – no [profit] margins. We might not bring the single-cabs in. This is yet to be decided at the factory," said Zhang.

In fact, Foton plans to use its fledgling heavy truck business to generate the profit it needs to subsidise its entry into Australia's super-competitive ute market – the fourth largest in the world.

Speaking at the launch of a range of new Foton heavy trucks last week, Zhang said the company's plan is for light commercial vehicles like the Tunland to account for just 35 per cent of sales in Australia and for new Foton trucks to comprise 65 per cent, rather than the other way round.

FMA has forecast 750 total sales in 2019, including 500 trucks and 250 utes, followed by incremental annual increases of 10 per cent for the next five years.

Zhang said Foton will use Australia's roads and martketplace as a testbed to develop its next ute before it is released in North America and Europe.

"Australia and New Zealand are really tough markets," he said.

"We are really not expecting a lot of volume, but we need this market to enhance the product quality and at the end of the day the company will go to USA and Europe as well.

"We will launch in Australian and New Zealand markets as a test bed, to see how good our product is and what we are able to do and what we can improve.

"It's critical stuff. We will stay here. We are not expecting volume but we need to be in this market."

Founded in 1996, Foton is China's largest truck manufacturer, with 40,000 workers and more than 300,000 domestic sales and a further 60,000 exports to 110 countries including Russia, Brazil, India, South Africa, Thailand and Indonesia.

But given Australia's geographical and timezone proximity to China, and its similarities to other western markets, it makes sense for Foton to partially develop vehicles here.

Foton is already already testing utes and trucks in the Northern Territory, Western and South Australia, and will commence testing its new Tunland ute here in August.

"We have constant feedback from dealerships, we have customer surveys and whatever the issues and feedback we have, we send to R&D in China and they can see how they can better tune the vehicle," said Zhang.

"We have to test the market and understand what the customer needs, what the market is expecting. We need to live up to the expectations otherwise it doesn’t make sense to us to rush.

"Our product development and R&D people come every quarter to do the research and have a feedback and discussion with us. They do a circle visit along the country."

Zhang said Foton could learn many lessons from Isuzu UTE, which sold more than 18,500 utes in Australia last year, when the D-MAX was the nation's fifth-best-selling 4x4 ute.

"Japanese makers have been in the market for a long time," he said.

"They are really a good example and benchmark for us. [Isuzu is] not really a direct competitor for us. We have a long, long way to go, but we have an example to follow."