Visitors to the annual Nampo agricultural show got a preview of Foton’s new Sauvana SUV which is based on the Tunland one-ton bakkie.
The Sauvana is a large SUV powered by the 2.8-litre Cummins turbo-diesel engine that is already fitted to Foton’s Tunland range of pick-ups. The SUV is based on the chassis and running gear of the Tunland pick-up, and was shown by Foton for the first time at the Guangzhou Auto Show in China in 2014.
The vehicle and went on sale in China at the beginning of 2015 and has since been introduced into the US market. The Sauvana, which has been undergoing local evaluation in South Africa since early this year and is performing very well, is due for public launch in the fourth quarter of 2016 and is expected to be very competitively priced.
Foton SA had three Tunland one-ton pick-ups at its stand at Nampo as well as the Sauvana, while the Cummins 2.8-litre turbo diesel engine which powers all these models was an imposing centrepiece. The Tunland pick-ups on the stand were a double cab 4x4 Lux, a double cab 4x2 Lux and a single cab Off-Road, all of which have applications in the local agricultural market. Foton also demonstrated the prowess of a Tunland double cab 4x4 on the Nampo 4x4 track.
According to Pedro Pereira, who is responsible for marketing the Foton range of light commercials and passenger cars in South Africa, the response to the Foton Sauvana from visitors to Nampo was very encouraging. “The Foton brand is making steady progress into the South African vehicle market as we expand the range and we are confident the Sauvanna, which will compete in a major segment of the local SUV segment, will assist in growing sales volume,” he says.
Foton Motor Group, which was established in 1996 with headquarters in Beijing, China, is part of the Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings (BAIC) Group. It has 20 engine and assembly plants in China and 13 Knocked Down (KD) facilities worldwide, providing a current production capacity of one million units a year. The company strategy going forward is to increase output to three million units a year by 2020.
Foton vehicles are distributed in South Africa by Future Automobile Distributors with sales and service available at 36 dealerships countrywide.
