Spied - What is the Foton Tunland doing in Pune?

The Foton Tunland is a Chinese pickup truck that was conceived to rival big pickups like the Toyota Hilux.

Foton, a subsidiary of Beijing Automotive Industry Holding C0., (BAIC) is a commercial vehicle manufacturer. The Tunland has a considerable acceptance in markets like Australia and South Africa and it seems Foton is interested in introducing the pickup in India as well.

One of our avid readers Mr. Nikhil Joseph Neelanthara has caught a camouflaged test mule of the pickup truck in Pune. He reports that the vehicle was trailed by a Tata Xenon, suggesting that it is used as a benchmark vehicle.

The Foton Tunland is a full sized pickup with an imposing road presence. The vehicle has a rugged appearance and the high ground clearance would come in handy during the off road trips. Globally, the Tunland is available in both double cab and single cab configurations.

Two engine options are available. A 2.4-litre diesel engine produces 129 bhp while a 2.8-litre Cummins diesel engine has 134 bhp on disposal. Both the engines are paired to a 5-speed manual transmission. 4x2 and 4x4 versions are available.

The lifestyle Pickup offers a lot of equipment some of which are options in the base and mid range versions. The vehicle can be specified with features like ABS, airbags, tire pressure monitoring system, leather wrapped steering wheel, music system, automatic climate control, etc.

We are witnessing an increased number of participation in the double cab pickup territory. We have the Mahindra Genio, Tata Xenon, Isuzu D-Max and there are chances for the Ssangyong Actyon Sports to be launched here as well.

If Foton is attempting to venture into our market, it should be needing a local production infrastructure else it cannot arrive at a competitive pricing.