PIMS 2022: Foton PH introduces A/T variant of Thunder pickup

During this year’s Manila International Auto Show (MIAS), Foton Motor Philippines Inc. (FMPI) unveiled and previewed the all-new Foton Thunder pickup truck. They definitely got the attention they wanted but one thing was missing and that’s an automatic transmission. That is until now.

Now at the 8th Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS), FMPI this time brings with them the automatic transmission equipped variant of their pickup truck offering. 

Just like what we saw at the MIAS, the Foton Thunder wears a more rugged and tough looking exterior with a large FOTON front grille, reminiscent of the one used by Ford in its Raptor and FX4 Max models. The headlights meanwhile give it a modern and rugged appearance with its blacked-out housing. It rides on 18-inch alloy wheels and gets LED taillights at the back.

Inside, the Thunder features a very car-like interior design. In fact, it does not look like what you’d usually find in a pick-up truck. Just like the model first shown during rhe MIAS, it gets a floating-style 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system and single-zone climate control. The seats are also wrapped in leather with a mix of diamond stitch pattern and perforations. Since this now has an automatic transmission, it also gets an electronic gear selector and electronic parking brake with auto-hold function. 

Under the hood, the Foton Thunder is still powered by a 2.0-liter Aucan Inline 4-cylinder turbodiesel engine powers the all-new Thunder. It produces a healthy 161 horsepower and 390 Nm of torque. This is paired to a 6-speed automatic transmission. The lower variant as shown before comes with a 6-speed manual transmission.

Pricing for the new automatic transmission equipped Foton Thunder is yet to be announced but we are expecting it to be set around Php 1.3-million.