Foton News

A new (to Australia) brand is about to enter the commercial vehicle market from China, poised to bring several versions of its electric van platform here to rival models like the LDV eDeliver 9 and the Ford E-Transit.

It’s an often repeated truism that the Australian new car market is “the most competitive in the world”. In fact, CarsGuide has no doubt repeated it on multiple occasions. 

If you're tired of waiting for Ford to launch a right-hand-drive version of the iconic F-150 in Australia, there might be a solution a little closer to home, with Chinese brand Foton launching its own jumbo truck that, if we're honest, looks more than a l

It doesn't seem all that long ago now that the Chinese car brands simply weren't considered a threat to the established marques in Australia.

China's automotive invasion appears to have faltered after a strong start.

Cars from China were poised to be the Next Big Thing but sales have tanked. It may go down in automotive history as the Great Fall of China. Despite promising to challenge the big brands when they arrived five years ago, sales of Chinese cars have plummeted as the cost of mainstream cars have limboed to new lows, squeezing out the cut-price competition. Deliveries of Chinese cars have been in freefall for more than 18 months, and the situation is so dire the distributor of Great Wall Motors and Chery vehicles stopped importing cars for at least two months. The Australian distributor says it was "renegotiating" prices with the Chinese car makers but dealers say they haven’t been able to order cars for up to six months. Sales of all Chinese cars have halved so far this year alone; Great Wall Motors sales are down by 54 per cent while Chery deliveries are down by 40 per cent, according to figures supplied by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. Just 1782 cars from China have been sold in the first five months of this year, down from 3565 for the same period last year. At their peak in 2012, more than 12,100 Chinese cars were sold locally. There are now at least seven Chinese car brands on sale in Australia but Great Wall and Chery are the largest; the others are yet to publish sales figures. A spokesman for Ateco, the distributor of Great Wall Motors, Chery and Foton vehicles from China said there "a range of factors" for the sharp sales slowdown. "Primarily it is to do with currency," said Ateco spokesman Daniel Cotterill. "The massive devaluation of the Japanese Yen in early 2013 has meant that well established Japanese vehicle brands are able to be much more competitively priced in the Australian market than was the case when Great Wall launched here in mid 2009." He said new brands traditionally compete on price, but that price advantage had all but evaporated. "Where once a Great Wall ute might have had six or seven thousand dollars of price advantage over an established Japanese brand, that is not the case at the moment in many instances," said Cotterill. "Currency fluctuations are cyclical and we remain optimistic that our competitive price position will return. In the meantime it is business as usual." The sales downturn comes as Great Wall Motors has a management reshuffle in China after its all-new SUV had to be withdrawn from sales twice because of quality concerns. The Bloomberg news agency reported that the reshuffle comes after the company posted sales declines in five of the past six months. The company also has twice delayed the introduction of its key new model, the Haval H8 SUV. Last month, Great Wall said it will hold off on sales of the vehicle until it is able to make the H8 of a "premium standard." In May Bloomberg reported that Great Wall suspended sales of the H8 after customers reported hearing "knocking noises" in the transmission system. The Haval H8 was supposed to mark a turning point for Great Wall Motors and promised to meet European crash safety standards. A slightly smaller SUV, the Haval H6, was due to be sold in Australia this year but the distributor says its arrival has been delayed by negotiations over currency - not because of any safety concerns. The reputation of Great Wall Motors and Chery vehicles took a hit in Australia in late 2012 when 21,000 Great Wall utes and SUVs and 2250 Chery passenger cars were recalled for having parts containing asbestos. Sales of both brands have been in freefall ever since.

Ateco Automotive, which also imports Chery and Lotus cars, last week announced it had taken over the Australian distribution of Foton Tunland utes from Queensland-based FAA Automotive.Ateco last year took over the local distribution of Chinese-made Foton trucks from TransPacific Industries, which had struggled to sell the cut-price machines at the same dealerships as its Western Star trucks. Ateco spokesman, Daniel Cotterill, says the company was happy to have the Foton ute business although it didn't try to poach it from FAA.  "This development came at the request of Foton (in China)," Cotterill says. "They came to us and said that it is not working for whatever reason, let's do this."Cotterill says Ateco and Foton are still working out the details of the models it will use to re-launch the brand locally in the middle of this year. Working Wheels understands the crew cab version will be a certain starter, although the recently launched single cab may not be in the new line-up. Ateco is also not ready to start discussing prices of the Foton utes, but Cotterill says "we will come back with sharper pricing."Rivals have suggested Foton had initially asked too much for its crew cab ute, launched in 2002 from $28,000 to $35,000, and underestimated the caution with which most Australian customers approach a new brand from China. The Foton utes will not be as cheap as the Great Wall workhorses, which start from $17,990, partly because they use more brand name componentry such as Cummins engines and also because of higher quality levels.Cotterill says Great Wall was not worried that Ateco was taking on another ute brand because the company has already shown it can import rival brands without problems. Ateco will also consider passenger versions of Foton vehicles if they are made available for Australia. 

FAA Automotive Australia, distributors of the Foton Tunland one-tonne ute, have built up a generic mine spec' version of the Tunland dual cab, with a view to demonstrating it in selected mines around Australia. The Mine Spec Tunland features a steel tube external ROPS (Rollover Protection System) comprising an over-cab bar structure and a steel bull bar with aerial mounts, a heavy-duty anodised aluminium dropside tray, integrated UHF radio and various safety accessories and customized lighting required on mine sites generally. FAA director Grant Phelan said the Tunland had some notable advantages in the conventional cab one-tonne ute class which suited modification for a tough life in the mines. "Unlike all other one-tonne utes, Tunland's Cummins 2.8 litre turbo-diesel engine has a cast iron cylinder head whose superior thermal efficiency enables reliable operation at higher temperatures, with the added benefit of thermostat-controlled electric radiator fans rather than the power wasting (and noisy) viscous-coupled fans paired with alloy head utes. "Tunland's engine also does duty in Foton's bigger trucks up to 4.5 tonnes GVM so is understressed in Tunland, a further boon to the Cummins' longevity reputation. A steel plate sump guard is standard on Tunland 4x4.  

Chinese cars were tipped to dominate the budget-car class and challenge established brands in half the time it took Japanese and South Korean companies - but the bubble has burst before it's properly inflated. After some early success since becoming the first Chinese brand to go on sale in Australia, Great Wall Motors has hit reverse and its Chinese peers are struggling to get into first gear.Official figures for the first five months of the year show Great Wall Motors deliveries are down by 35 per cent compared with the same period the previous year in a record market that is up by 4.5 per cent.Other Chinese brands such as Foton have also had a stalled start. After announcing big plans two years ago Foton has sold fewer than 300 pick-ups in that time.Budget brand Geely has still restricted its sales to Western Australia and Chery's small cars have been stymied by newer competition from established brands. Chery sales are also down by 35 per cent.The Chery J1 hatchback was the cheapest car in Australia in almost two decades when it went on sale with a $9990 drive-away price in 2011, and is now available with a "pay half now, half later'' deal.But it too has failed to rock the sales charts. ''Sales have slowed for now but they will recover,'' says Daniel Cotterill, the spokesman for Ateco, distributor of Great Wall Motors and Chery passenger cars and the Foton truck range.''It's been frustrating for us and the dealers to not have more new models available to us as quickly as we would like."'The other challenge for Chinese car brands is that mainstream marques such as Suzuki, Nissan and Volkswagen have all responded with quality cut-price contenders priced from $11,990 to $13,990 drive-away. "In some ways we are a victim of our initial success,'' said Cotterill. "Other mainstream brands have had to come down in price to compete with us.''Other hurdles: more than 20,000 Great Wall Motors and Chery vehicles were recalled in August 2012 for having asbestos components in their engines. Chinese cars tend to earn poor to scores in crash tests (between two and four stars when the modern industry norm is five stars).But the companies hope to have a reversal of fortunes with a number of new generation Chinese vehicles made to international standards due in local showrooms in the next two years.''There are new models in the pipeline,'' said Cotterill.''We are confident in the ability of the Chinese to respond the Australian car market and boost sales.''This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling 

The Foton truck brand, as opposed to its one tonne utilities, has arrived in  Australia. The trucks have been modified for local use  in terms of performance, reliability and value for money.The range comprises two cab widths, two engines, three wheelbases and GVMs ranging from 4.5 to 8.5 tonnes and prices start at $29,990 drive away. At the heart of Foton's light trucks are the Cummins ISF3.8L and ISF2.8L engines.Renowned for their efficiency, environmental credentials and resilience, these engines are expected to provide Foton customers with the blend of low operating costs, outstanding performance and enviable reliability.Foton also works closely with a host of additional international partners, including some of the best-known component suppliers in the world such as ZF, Bosch and Continental.Foton trucks are available from 22 dealer points around the country with the number of dealer points expected to grow to 30 by the end of the year.All Foton trucks are covered by a three year 160,000km warranty and, in the unlikely event of problem, 24 hour a day seven days a week roadside assistance.