Chinese ute bonanza! Foton Tunland V7 and V9 timing locked in as brand faces rivals like the MG U9, GWM Cannon, Ford Ranger and more

Fresh from its Australian debut at the Melbourne Motor Show, Chinese commercial vehicle specialist Foton has revealed initial details for its Tunland ute series for this market.

The Tunland had its local debut just after fellow Chinese brand MG held the global debut for its U9 pick-up.

If the name Foton is familiar, it could be for a couple of reasons. Foton is a successful light truck maker in China and has recently launched its Aumark S range here.

Another reason for the familiarity could be that Foton launched the original Tunland ute in Australia back in 2012, but poor safety scores, lack of brand recognition and quality issues hampered the brand’s expansion plans.

Not that Foton’s local management is too concerned about the first time the brand had a presence here, with Foton Australia General Manager Glen Cooper highlighting the brand's backing from Subaru, Peugeot and Deepal importer Inchcape, telling CarsGuide, “I think we have got a fantastic product. It is well and truly a step up on what it used to be. I think I am pretty safe in saying that.

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"And we are backed by Inchcape this time around. We are doing all the right things to really set it up right so I think we should be in a good spot,” he said.

There are two versions of the Tunland coming to Australia - the Tunland V7 which the brand describes as a “no nonsense workhorse” that’s available in two- and four-wheel drive. The Tunland V9 has coil-spring suspension that Foton says gives the ute “SUV like comfort”.

The pair will arrive in the third quarter of the year and Foton says it expects them to be competitively priced, although exact pricing is yet to be confirmed.

Both utes are powered by a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-diesel engine paired with a 48-volt mild hybrid system, producing 120kW/450Nm. It comes with an eight-speed ZF-sourced automatic and fuel use is yet to be announced for Australia.

The pair will sport a 3500kg towing capacity and come with an advanced BorgWarner electronic selectable 4WD system.

In terms of dimensions, the Tunland V7 and V9 are a size up from mainstream mid-size utes like the Ford Ranger (5370mm long) and Toyota HiLux (5325mm long), but not quite as large as US-sized pick-ups such as the Ford F-150 (5884mm long).

Specification is yet to be announced but expect a 14.6-inch touchscreen, intelligent cabin tech, matrix LED headlights, four-way power seat adjustment and leather upholstery.

The Tunland will compete with a number of utes, including the upcoming MG U9, as well as the Ford Ranger, GWM Cannon and Cannon Alpha, Isuzu D-Max, Mazda BT-50, Mitsubishi Triton, Toyota HiLux and more.

Cooper said there’s likely more new product on the horizon from the returning Chinese brand.

“There’s an excellent product catalogue we are looking at overseas, so we will see what comes from that as well,” he said.