Domestic car names are becoming more and more "down-to-earth". First, BYD introduced the Dynasty series, which was used in Tang, Han, Yuan, and Song dynasties that are familiar to the public; while the Great Wall used cannons to clear the way , Tank, and Big Dog followed closely, with the name Shunliu; and recently, Foton, a long-established car company that has always been very "serious", has also played with the "trend" in naming new cars, naming the family's latest pickup truck. "General".
General, a military attache title often set up by various dynasties in ancient China, was mostly a senior military commander or even the highest military commander. Anyone who can be called a general is incredible. Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, Yue Fei, the eternal loyal man, and Yang Zaixing, the first man in a million soldiers, are all famous figures in history.
So whenever the word "general" is mentioned, the word "tall and mighty" flashes in people's minds involuntarily. So what is the origin of Foton's new pickup truck, and how dare it boast of " General"?
When I first looked at the car photos, I thought the Ford Raptor had another "girly" version, because the square front end, raised hood, wide wheel eyebrows and exposed rivets are really similar to the Raptor.
But if you look closely, you will find that there is a three-character difference between the car logo "FOTON" and "FORD", and there are obvious differences in the grille shape, headlight shape, lower surround, etc. Regardless of whether there is any suspicion of borrowing from others, as far as consumers are concerned, being domineering is enough.
Multi-spoke large-scale wheels are equipped with BFGoodrich AT off-road tires and red brake calipers. In addition, the new car is also equipped with side steps and a roll cage. At first glance, it looks like the kind of car that can go to the fields and do rough work. "guy".
Although the body size and configuration of the new car have not yet been announced, we know from the grapevine that the car will be about 2 meters wide and equipped with comfortable features such as a sunroof, which can be said to be on par with the Raptor in all aspects.
In terms of power, the new car will be powered by 2.0T gasoline, 2.0T diesel and 2.5T diesel provided by Ocon Power. The gasoline version has a maximum power of 175kW (238 horsepower) and a peak torque of 360 Nm; The 2.0T diesel version has a maximum torque of 390 Nm; the transmission system will be matched with ZF’s 8-speed automated manual transmission.
In terms of the four-wheel drive system structure, Foton General is equipped with a four-wheel drive system provided by BorgWarner, which can provide three drive modes: two-wheel drive, low-speed four-wheel drive and high-speed four-wheel drive, and is also equipped with Eaton differential locks will focus on the passenger off-road pickup market in the future.
It can be seen that although the General has many similarities with the Raptor in terms of appearance, there is still a certain gap between the 3.5T of the Raptor in terms of power.
At the Beijing Auto Show, in addition to the General, Foton will also bring a new pickup truck on the P4 platform.
It is reported that this new pickup truck may be powered by Cummins 3.8T diesel power and matched with a 48V light-hybrid system. The transmission is expected to match 9AT. If there is such a power system, it can really compete with the Raptor.
After entering the 21st century, the domestic passenger car market has experienced explosive growth, exceeding 5 million vehicles in 2004, 10 million vehicles in 2009, 15 million vehicles in 2010, and 2,000 vehicles in 2013. Thousands of vehicles.
Who can be unmoved in the face of such fat meat? As the absolute leader in the domestic commercial vehicle market, Foton Motor has already been eyeing it, but has never made any achievements, and its several trials have been relatively bleak.
The time soon came to 2014. Futian tried to find a breakthrough through new models, such as finding a seemingly high-ranking "partner". After searching all over the world, he finally found the so-called "partner" Borgward, which is as famous as BBA, acquired 100% of the equity of Borgward Group for 5 million euros.
Relying on a good story and the dividends of the SUV market, Foton Motor has made some achievements in the passenger car market with the hot sales of BX7 and BX5. But the good times did not last long. As the lies were exposed and competition in the SUV market intensified, Borgward's sales went from bad to worse. Foton eventually sold Borgward to China UCAR.
In recent years, with the unblocking of policies and good news such as the Ford Raptor and other pickup trucks being classified as passenger cars, the domestic pickup truck market is taking over from SUVs and becoming a new engine for the growth of the auto market.
Relevant data shows that in the past August, the sales volume of the domestic narrow-sense pickup truck market was 31,608 units, a year-on-year increase of 36.32. Among the 11 mainstream pickup truck companies, only 3 dropped year-on-year, and the remaining 8 all Maintaining positive growth, the overall situation is excellent.
For Foton, it failed to seize the growth dividends of SUVs a few years ago. Now it is facing the dividends of the pickup truck market. How can it give up easily? Moreover, Foton has been rooted in the pickup truck market for many years and has accumulated rich technology and experience. The family's Trailblazer series pickup trucks are also well-known in the industry.
Obviously, it is far easier for Foton to expand and strengthen the pickup truck market than SUVs.
Image source network
Although the pickup truck market is currently in a dividend period, competition is also very fierce. From the sales volume of the narrow pickup truck market in August, Great Wall Pickup Truck is the absolute dominant player in the market. One company occupies a market share of 51.78%, among which the sales volume of one gun model reached 7,962 units, accounting for 25% of the market share.
Among the top 18 sales models, except for the three models from Great Wall, only four models from other brands have sold more than 1,000 units. The best JMC Territory 7 sold only 1,678 units, less than 1,000 units. A fraction, the market competition is very cruel.
Different from the pickup trucks in the "tool-oriented" period, in the current era of "passenger-oriented" pickup trucks, if you want the car to sell well, in addition to excellent product capabilities, you must also be able to build momentum, at least to make it more popular. The majority of consumers know that there is such a car, and in the absence of a story to tell, naming it may be the quickest way.
Futian's name "General" is a topic of its own, and he imitated the Harvard dog, participated in online naming activities, and also seized the hot spot of "Mulan" to launch a pink color The goddess version model has successfully attracted a lot of attention.
Judging from early feedback, the Foton General’s controversial appearance and down-to-earth name have indeed made many people aware of this car. But in the increasingly mature domestic auto market, good sales must still rely on strong product strength. Otherwise, will the Zotye RS9 next door still have trouble selling?
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.