Recently, Angka-Tan Motor organised a VIP tour to Foton China headquarters. Being participants of the VIP Trip to China afforded participants to access a wider range of vehicles to be tested. Of particular interest were the electric vehicles, especially the prime movers. 

“It is good to see that Foton has the entire range of commercial vehicles covered, which demonstrates that Foton understands the needs of the industry,” one participant commented after having tried most of the vehicles available for a drive around the production facilities. 

Sold through dealers in Malaysia, the Foton brand has long been a common sight on Malaysian roads. Being able to provide professional consulting to customers requires Alvin Tan, Managing Director, Combine Motor, Selayang to be in close contact with the brand. The trip to Beijing not only meant he could spend time with Angka-Tan staff to learn about the latest offerings, but to get a regular update on the brand’s plans. “I have taken over this business from my father, who started it. I have been heading it since 2004 and been a Foton dealer from then on.” It is passion for trucks that has been in his blood since young. 

Foton Daimler, as the most professional commercial vehicle joint venture in China, utilizes its international advantage to integrate global technology resources and selects EU certified E-Mark parts, such as Cummins (USA), ZF (Germany), Sachs (Germany), Continental (Germany), WABCO (Germany) and other international first-tier parts and components suppliers, in order to ensure Auman trucks’ excellent quality. 

Taking the Galaxy for a Drive
As a flagship model, the Auman Galaxy demonstrates the full capabilities of the brand. Although not available in Malaysia (yet), it was used to showcase what Auman envisions as the future of transportation and which technology the brand is capable of incorporating.

At the Beijing Super Truck Experience Center, a Auman Galaxy was readied for the group to be driven on a short test track, simulating various harsh driving conditions. Taking turns, the group was to experience how the Galaxy combines high safety, high comfort, high fuel efficiency and high intelligence. The distinctive hood lighting provides better nighttime recognition and visual aesthetics while having an industry minimum drag coefficient. When the vehicle speed is 85 km/h, 40 percent of the vehicle fuel consumption is used to overcome the air resistance, the wind resistance of the general truck is 0.6 to 0.8, Auman Galaxy adopts aerodynamic design, strict wind tunnel test, the body wind resistance coefficient reaches the lowest in the industry, and the shape is 3-5 percent more fuel efficient than other vehicles. 

The driver is supported in his tasks by, the lane driving deviation monitoring system, when there is a lane deviation, front collision warning system and 360 panoramic surround view system. These systems, installed in the front hood as well as the rearview mirror equipped with six cameras offering 360 degrees views without a dead angle, no splicing gap, afford driving safely without blind spots. 

The test drive vehicle was powered by the exclusive Foton Cummins A 15-liter engine with 660 horsepower. The body of the Auman Galaxy is made of 1mmm all-steel plate cab, combined with the frame structure; the whole cab is pressed and moulded in one time, giving the driver a safe space. To offer the best possible payload, the truck is kept lightweight with a high-strength frame, with 8 plus L double-layer frame. The frame itself is screwed with high-strength steel, using the most advanced and highest tonnage three-dimensional CNC punching production line, stamping, moulding, strong anti-sidestepping ability, strong driving stability, reliable quality, and stronger load-bearing capacity. Fit for the global market, the truck is tested for EU regulations, meets EC93 European crash regulations and certified by TÜV Rheinland for safety. 

The Auman Galaxy is fitted a dual-grade water-circulating heated large-capacity fuel tank to this vehicle. The main tank has a capacity of 800 litres, the secondary tank 300 litres. The maximum can be expanded to 1 300 litres. This layout and design are reducing the number of refuelling stops, thus improving the operating time. 

Conceptualised for long distance drives the truck features flat tire emergency safety devices. It has been found that in 70 percent of heavy goods vehicles being involved in accidents on highways the root cause are tyre failures. Auman Galaxy can still continue to drive more than three kilometers when a tyre suddenly bursts, with the vehicle’s steering and braking characteristics as normal. In addition, the trucks are fitted with tre pressure monitoring systems to provide real-time automatic monitoring of the tyre’s performance. 

Being part of a joint venture with Daimler, Auman has access to state-of-the-art technology. The entire vehicle incorporates the latest developments from Daimler to optimise powertrain, chassis assembly optimization power, economy, and fuel consumption. Rounding out the offer is the joint powertrain integration whereby Daimler and Cummins offer matching transmission customization to improve the drivetrain. 

The workstation of the driver offers a flat floor cab with 1.85m headroom. The super luxury new generation Auman exclusive Grammer 115 seats, seat belt height adjustment, shoulder adjustment, ventilation heating, massage and other functions, comprehensively enhance the driving comfort. The airsuspended seat ensures a comfortable ride. When parked, the passenger seat can be folded to make more space for movement inside the cab. The 12.3-inch full LCD instrumentation adopts a double-disc design for easy reading of key information. 

Safety features include ACC adaptive cruise control system, which can be set from 0 - 150 kilometers per hour. When there is another vehicle in front of the vehicle, the system will automatically adjust the speed of the Galaxy and control the distance from the front vehicle. This is paired with AEBS Automatic Emergency Braking System, an autonomous and automatic road vehicle safety system that relies on sensors to monitor the relative speeds and distances between the vehicle in front of you and the target vehicle, calculates impending situations, and automatically avoids collisions or mitigates their effects during emergency braking in dangerous situations. 

The fatigue driving monitoring system, through the cab assembled sensors, can detect the driver entering into the state of fatigued driving. When danger becomes imminent, the driver will be alerted through the system and encouraged to take a rest to ensure a safe continuation of the journey. Adding to the safety features is the emergency one-key call system; Using just one key, a call to an all-artificial customer service can be sent out to summon emergency help, schedule a maintenance appointment, address inquiries among other functions will offer drivers a maximum degree of efficiency and convenience. 

First Driving Impressions
Climbing into the cab, the driver will find a highly functional, tidy instrument cluster. Everything is within reach and marked for easy use. In particular, the gear selector is designed with intuition in mind. Designers have taken to making the interior of the truck to be highly convenient while being safe. One such example is the motorized, hidden sunshade: this easy to operate visor will allow the driver to operate it without diverting much attention from the street to handling it. The cab is adorned with a sticker, telling us that the ZF gearbox is an AMT (Automated Manual Transmission), a clear sign of the pride that all the suppliers and developers have put into the vehicle. 

While the Auman Galaxy could be quieter from the outside, the interior is satisfyingly soundproof. With the power on hand, the vehicle pulls away quickly on the test track. It seems that the track was specifically designed to demonstrate the suspension and even on this short round one can feel that the vehicle’s suspension is very capable of absorbing a good deal of bumps. Thanks to the architecture of the drivetrain, the cab is free from obstructions sticking into it. At the end of the day, the 1010 mm ultra-wide double berth provides a comfortable home away from home. By lengthening the body of the lower berth, it can reach a maximum width of 1010 mm. 

The design, clearly inspired by the latest offerings from the German JV partner, is evoking a futuristic appearance (even without the Transformer decals). Cladding on the sides, covering the fuel tanks and enhancing the flow around the vehicle add to the cool looks. With plenty of power, and stamina thanks to extra-large fuel capacity, one can easily see this vehicle being put to use in strenuous missions.