A new brand of truck is moving into the Australian truck market and PowerTorque got a chance to experience the FAW and get some idea of what it’s like driving a Chinese prime mover.

The last 10 years has seen the character of the Australian truck market start to change. There had been a number of strong brands dominating the market and very few new brands were introduced.

The growing truck industry in China and the planned changes over to zero emission trucks has seen the introduction of a number of new brands from China and Korea, but mainly China. One of those brands putting a toe in the water of the Australian truck market is FAW.

FAW is probably the biggest global truck manufacturer you’ve never heard of. The business is Chinese state owned and began under the name First Automotive Works in 1953 in Changchun in China.

The company makes everything from cars up to heavy duty trucks and is involved in joint ventures with Toyota and Volkswagen. The company’s trucks are sold in China under the Jiefang brand but will be sold here in Australia, simply under the FAW monicker.

According to the company’s global website it employs 24,800 people and produces 310,000 commercial vehicles every year. The range includes trucks all the way from small 4.5T delivery vehicles up to the largest heavy duty movers on the Chinese mark market.

The first FAW representative on the ground in Australia was Clinton Zhou, Managing Director of FAW Oceania, based in Deer Park in Melbourne’s west. He arrived with the express purpose of creating a foothold in Australia for the FAW organisation as an importer and distributor of the brand.

“Three years ago, we decided to develop a product range for the Australian market,” says Clinton. “We think the prime mover is the most common product in this market. The JH6 model is the only right hand drive platform FAW have already, because they are selling them in South Africa and other areas.

“What we have now is the third version of the product development of the JH6 and we currently have another smaller one which is a JK6, which should be ready at the end of the year.”

The JH6 prime mover will be brought in as a Euro 5 and Euro 6. The first models to come in are 6×4 prime movers, but the second stage of truck introduction will see the rigid JH6, with 6×2, 6×4 and 8×4 available. There is also a concrete agitator design in the planning stage, with an 8×4 and 10×4 in the mix.

The engine available at Euro 5 is a 13 litre rated at either 500hp or 550hp with 2300Nm or 2600Nm of torque available. FAW say there is also a newer Euro 6 powered model, the J7, planned to arrive later in the rollout which will use a new engine with a claimed output well over 600hp.

“I don’t think we will bring in any manual transmissions, the global market has moved,” says Clinton.

“It will just be a 12-speed ZF AMT. We are working on driveline matching now, going through different engine options and different gearbox options, and are letting the computer run that program.

“We already have all of the matching settings on the left hand drives, so now they have to convert everything over to right hand drive. According to the R&D team, there is a need to run at least 200,000km to get enough data to do a reliable test.

“We have the FAW engine and we will also have a Cummins options as well. We can get them up to 15 litres. As well as the ZF transmission, we will also offer Eaton and Allison options.”

There are six trucks on the road in Australia under evaluation and, according to Clinton, FAW expect to have trucks in Australia, ready for sale before the end of 2024.