Foton Mobility Distribution (FMD) is making serious moves in Australia, with plans to round out its range with more electric models, on its way to an ambitious target of 250 Foton T5 EV trucks on the road by the end of 2024.
The company commissioned its first Hydrogen City bus back in 2021 and then in 2023 launched the T5 light-duty truck, which went on to become the top-selling electric truck in its segment that same year.
FMD also offers a battery-electric bus and will soon roll out medium- and heavy-duty truck options as it continues its zero-emission offensive in Australia – taking the fight to European and Japanese manufacturers.
By next year FMD will be the only supplier capable of offering light- through to heavy-duty electric truck options that will all wear the same badge, sold under the one roof.
Fleet HV News sat down with FMD General Manager of Light Vehicles, Bill Gillespie, to find out how Foton has managed to top the electric truck sales ladder in Australia, and what the future looks like as more models enter the mix.
The T5 was a success out of the gate for FMD, which Mr Gillespie says is no mistake. He puts much of its popularity down to the unique benefits it offers, like a car-licence suitable GVM and 3500kg braked towing capacity, which other electric truck competitors couldn’t offer at the time.
“We had the 4.5-tonne GVM, which a lot of companies haven’t been able to bring here, and that’s the biggest segment of the light truck market,” he said.
“You can also put a tipper body on and upgrade it to six tonnes, you can have a Pantech or a refrigerator body, even an alloy tray, making it very versatile. It can also tow 3.5 tonnes, with a GCM of eight tonnes.
“So, we had a car-licence truck, out of the box, for the last-mile companies in Australia.”
The last-mile delivery game is ruled by major retailers who handle their own urban freight task, with Woolworths now the largest last-mile delivery operator in Australia – operating 1200 trucks in its home delivery fleet alone.
This made Woolworths a prime target for Foton, and it turns out the T5 was an ideal fit, as the grocery giant pushes to transition 100% of its 1200 strong fleet of home delivery trucks to electric by 2030.
“That truck worked for them from day one, so the refrigerated body went on and we delivered 25 straight up,” Mr Gillespie said.
“It did the job straight away and they’re now at 62 or 63 trucks. They are doing a great job for them.”
The proof is in the pudding, Mr Gillespie explains, with the Woolworths trucks accumulating more than 850,000 kilometres since July last year.
“That’s a pretty good test and they’re now coming back for their first service and the annual registration check, but apart from normal service items, we haven’t seen a problem with them,” he said.
“We’re nearly 12 months on the road, for the first 25 trucks, and we don’t have any issues with people being able to jump out of something else and into this. It’s very straightforward: put your foot on the brake, turn the key, switch into drive mode, release the handbrake off and off you go.”
Fleet focus
The refrigerated last-mile sector is big business for FMD, but so is the general freight and utility market with the T5 proving its versatility; swap the body and you’ve got a tipper, a Pantech or a refrigerated truck.
“If you look at our sales mix last year, there were a lot of refrigerated trucks for Woolworths, many Pantech’s for last mile work with IKEA, who have around 30 across their fleet, and then we’ve also got upwards of 6 trucks with Bunnings Warehouse fitted with custom designed alloy trays,” Mr Gillespie said.
“So if you look at our customers, most of it has been Woolworths, then last-mile Pantech work, then tippers and a little bit of alloy tray.”
Clearly major retailers and transport operators are a focus for FMD, because the list just keeps on going as Mr Gillespie talks us through the array of customers buying up the T5 models.
“Kennards Hire have their first truck in Sydney with more planned, Grace Removals use our T5 Pantech trucks, and Mainfreight have got 10 Foton EV trucks now too,” he said.
Councils are also high on the list, Mr Gillespie says, with the zero-emission T5 able to replace two diesel utes in terms of its payload capacity.
“The truck we have weighs 2400kg (tare) and that’s another reason we’ve been successful because it’s the lightest tare weight Electric truck out there,” he said.
“That means you can put an alloy tray on the back of that, with a ladder rack that might weigh another 380kg, and you’ve still got a 1700kg payload. We’ve had similar trucks with Bunnings doing more than 200 kilometres in a day.”
This effectively allows car-licence suitable light-duty trucks to do the work of two dual-cab utes, safely and emission-free, which is exactly what Bunnings Warehouse have used the T5 to do, Mr Gillespie says.
Councils are listening, too, with Logan City Council taking on a T5 tipper and others close to hitting go.
The T5 is a strong solution for councils with its payload and car-licence GVM, Mr Gillespie says, but it’s the ability to tow 3500kg that sets it apart.
“When we talk about councils, because a lot are very interested in making the switch from ICE to EV, for them being able to tow is a very important feature,” he said.
Range expansion
While new to Australia the brand has been a long-term leader in China, topping the sales charts for the better part of two decades.
“I went to China in May last year and I was struck by how large the Foton Group is and the quality of the production, the quality of the whole venture,” Mr Gillespie said.
“They’re a business that’s transitioning from traditional fuel and diesel, over to hydrogen, hybrid and EV, so I was massively impressed by the scale of that operation and the potential products we could bring to Australia.
“The business builds 700,000+ vehicles a year, so obviously it’s a pretty big business.”
Of the 700,00 vehicles the firm produces, more than 20,000 of the models built last year were ‘new energy commercial vehicles. In 2025, the manufacturer is planning to sell 150,000 new energy vehicles.
This means Australia could, in theory, cherry pick suitable models from the evolving lineup of new energy options. According to Mr Gillespie, that’s just what FMD is doing.
“There will be an 8.5- or nine-tonne truck that we’ll bring to market, and we’ll be able to clarify the exact timing on that after some meetings in China in August,” he said.
“Then there’s a 16- or 18-tonne GVM truck as well.”
On the larger end of the spectrum, a heavy-duty agitator is currently being trialled near Port Hedland in Western Australia. Across six months, the Foton e-AUMAN C truck will be put through its paces in extreme operating conditions as part of a collaboration between Holcom and Foton’s global business.
“There’s a 32-tonne agitator truck with Holcim at Newman, operating there on a daily basis and by all accounts it’s doing a good job,” Mr Gillespie said.
“That is a global deal with Holcim, from Foton globally, and we’re a country they’ve chosen to do this trial with.”
When asked if a successful trial could lead to FMD bringing the 32-tonne trucks in, the answer was a quick and decisive, “for sure.”
“That truck comes in fully built as an agitator, but we would also have the option to bring that in as a cab chassis to target some local distribution work,” Mr Gillespie said.
He says the decision to bring more truck options in is based on market demand, with customers tentatively committing to the larger models before they even touch down.
“There’s a lot of interest in the eight tonne and the 16 to 18 tonne size as well, and we’ve even had one customer say that they’d order a significant quantity of those.
Dealer priority
Mr Gillespie is no stranger to the motor industry, having held senior positions at major OEMs like Hino, Peugeot, Nissan, Kia and Toyota.
He understands that a crucial piece of the puzzle for distributors is a strong dealer network, which is why FMD partnered with established retailers early on.
“We partnered primarily with two of the major automotive retailing groups in Australia, both in trucks and passenger cars,” Mr Gillespie said.
“Eagers Group are our partner in Brisbane, Sydney and Perth, and in Melbourne and Adelaide we have CMV – trading under the Sustainable Vehicle Solutions (SVS) banner.
“Then we have a couple of smaller ones like ABC in Cairns and Townsville, and we’re about to appoint a dealer in Tasmania and Canberra.”
While a strong dealer network was a must for FMD, Mr Gillespie says it was important to find the right dealers, who understood trucks and could handle major accounts.
“Customers like Woolworths aren’t going to buy from you unless you have dealers in their area,” he said.
“You’ve got to be able to show them that you’ve got a proper dealer network. So a real key to success is to have the right dealers with the right experience in each of those major markets.”
For customers that need parts and servicing in regional locations, Mr Gillespie says the FMD team is looking at options to expand its reach.
“There may also be parts and service only dealers appointed through the rest of this year or early next year, because there are customers, we are talking to who need support beyond the major cities,” he said.
Charging forward
So far, Mr Gillespie says there are around 130 T5 trucks on the road and when asked if FMD could top 200 units by the end of the year, he hinted that the company has a more ambitious goal in mind.
“We have a goal that’s more like 250 trucks, and I think at the halfway point we’re on track,” he said.
Alongside the new models FMD plans to introduce to Australia, the team has been working behind the scenes to soften the blow to residual values seen with EVs – offering a strong warranty and consistent pricing.
“No doubt people would like them (electric trucks) to be cheaper, but on total cost of ownership, if you’re doing enough kilometres, you’re at about four years for that breakover point,” Mr Gillespie said.
“So, we don’t get the price question much, because we’re working on keeping the value in the truck by building them with more spec, adding more value in the truck rather than trying to reduce the price.
“We’re proving it out in terms of its reliability, longevity, and we’re going to work pretty hard on the warranty side – we want to be a leader on warranty.”
Mr Gillespie shares that early Woolworths data proves the Foton trucks are up to the task and don’t appear to be having any form of battery degradation.
“We spend a lot of our time working on battery life and what we can do about degradation and also on range and the results so far have been outstanding,” he said.
“We want to turn something that people feel is uncertain into something that is rock solid, in terms of warranty and battery life.”
Fleet HV News will share more about Foton’s warranty plans and timing for incoming models in the coming months, when FMD shares more information with us.
