United Asia Automotive Group, Inc. (UAAGI), the official distributor of Foton vehicles in the Philippines remains bullish with regard to its performance heading into the third quarter of 2018. As a lead up to the Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS), UAAGI outlined its various plans and products that will see them through 2018 and beyond.

With a product line-up that’s heavily dominated by Light-Duty Trucks (LDTs), Foton has so far been able to weather the “TRAIN storm.” While the industry as a whole is down almost 10 percent so far, Foton has managed to register a 5 percent sales growth. In fact, for the first 9 months of the year, the commercial vehicle manufacturer has already reached 76 percent of its whole year 2017 sales performance.

“The government’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ program is fueling demand for commercial vehicles particularly in the Light-Duty Truck and Heavy-Duty Truck segments,” reveals UAAGI President Rommel Sytin. “Some of these infrastructure projects have already started and some are already in the process of being approved. All this points to an increased demand for commercial vehicles. This is also shown in the increased number of competitors coming into this market segment.”

Realizing that more commercial vehicle brands are entering the country, Foton is set to increase its dealer footprint from the current 22 (excluding 6 standalone Gratour sales offices) to 37 by the end of 2020. This year alone, Foton has already opened 3 dealerships with 3 more slated before the year ends.

Together with its increased dealer presence, Foton is also updating its product line-up to take advantage of its technical partnership with diesel engine expert, Cummins. Starting this month, the entire Foton line-up, including its heavy-duty truck line is now powered by the clean “Blue Energy Euro 4” engine series. This means that its 2.8-liter ISF engine is now joined by the 3.8-liter ISF and the 12-liter ISG engine.

These engines boast of four key features: an integrated cooling and lubrication system which improves efficiency and promotes longer engine; a patented Cummins XPI high-pressure fuel injection system that delivers fuel at 2,000 bars of pressure regardless of engine rpm which returns better fuel efficiency and response; a fully-integrated emission aftertreatment system which includes a diesel particulate filter, diesel exhaust fluid, and/or selective catalytic reduction; and a unique NanoNet oil filtration system which extends engine service intervals and reduces downtime.

For 2018, the Foton line-up comprises the Traveller, Toano, Thunder, and Toplander for the passenger vehicle range; the Tornado C Series (2.4C, 4.4C, 4.8C) for the light-duty trucks; the Tornado M Series (M4.2, M5.2) for the medium-duty trucks; and the EST-M Hurricane, EST Tractor Head, ETX-N, and GTL for the heavy-duty trucks.

The passenger vehicle range carries an unprecedented 5-year, 150,000-kilometer warranty while the light- and medium-duty trucks come with a 3-year, 100,000-kilometer warranty. In fact, the new Tornado M4.2C comes with an industry-first 3-year, unlimited mileage warranty.