It is said Foton Daimler will launch a new Auman GTL tractor equipped with Cummins engine produced by Foton at the end of 2013. The engine is a produced in Beijing by the joint venture of Foton and Cummins. It weight around 803kg and has outstanding fuel-saving feature. The engine oil filtering system is original Cummins product which enables engine to have a longer maintenance period and low costs. The engine horsepower ranges from 310-430, adaptive to tractors, special vehicles and engineering vehicles.
In only 10 years, Foton grows from a small farming factory in Zhucheng, Shandong province into one of the top five Chinese heavy truck enterprises. Its strength is rather powerful. In 2010, Foton teams up with German Daimler. The cooperation enables Foton to upgrade its brand value and introduce some management and technologies and at the same time allows Daimler to squeeze into the large Chinese market.
Many people believe after joining hands with Daimler, Foton would introduce OM457 engine from German Benz. But the truth goes into the opposite way. Cummins engines produced by Foton are only small displacement ones like 2.8L and 3.8L. Why Foton heavy truck chooses Cummins engines and when does this project started? As is known in this industry, the OM457 engine encounters backward technology after being introduced into China so this project is pended. Regarding the time starting Cummins heavy duty truck, it is supposed in 2011, otherwise the engine cannot be produced now.
Why Cummins starts a project with Foton for heavy trucks as it already has Dongfeng Cummins and Xi'an Cummins projects? It is believed that this is largely related to the fact that SHACMAN one of the shareholders of Xi'an Cummins failed to promote Cummins classis M11 engine into the market. Also, Weichai has been hindering the development of SHACMAN. The above two factors prove Xi'an Cummins has a limited market. As for the performance of Foton-produced Cummins heavy truck engine, let's wait and see.
