Never fails to amaze me

I’ll be writing about two topics today, first about how the Foton brand “grew” in front of my eyes (in a manner of speaking) from traditional fossil fuel power to 100 percent full electric and the other topic about plant-based diet as requested by a regular reader.

When I first heard my family friends, the Sytin brothers, talk about importing a Chinese truck brand I was already incredulous.

It was at a time when Chinese brands were just entering the Philippine market and the handful of companies that first attempted to do so failed because of quality issues or lack of commitment on the part of the would-be local distributors/seller.

To counter my doubts, they told me that the entry would be slow and deliberate, primarily focusing on just a few provincial places where “price points” or “reasonably priced trucks” would be interesting to small businesses.

The truck market back then was quite big and largely not addressed in terms of affordability. There was no point in competing and getting into “dog fights” with established brands.

Then they told me that the truck brand was “Foton,” which at the time was already one of the top if not the number one selling truck in China. True enough, when I checked, the brand was solid, selling and established.

We all said our prayers for their new venture and unlike the failed bids of other distributors of Chinese commercial vehicles, the Sytin brothers approached the plan “full on” just like they do in other businesses.

They did not order units piece meal, or only when an order was made; they marketed the trucks and the brand just like Japanese brands were sold. They backed sales with aggressive commitments for parts and services and boldly offered multi-year warranties that were unheard of.

The plan was a slow crawl towards brand and product credibility and the plan worked. True enough, in a few short years, Foton became a choice and as more users attested to the quality, more buyers came in.

The brothers could have stopped there but they did not. Instead, they made the next bold move by building an assembly plant to show the market that Foton was here to stay.

I attended the opening of a P1.2-billion assembly plant with a capacity for 12,000 units in February 2016 at the Clark Freeport Zone. From the simple set up, the plant grew, and their lineup expanded to include pick-ups, vans and eventually buses.

How time flies and now, 10 years later – 2026 – I was invited to the launching of a dedicated facility for sales, service and support for the full line up of Foton 100-percent full electric vehicles in Quezon City.

The move was clearly popular because Mayor Joy Belmonte, who claims to be not much into ribbon cutting events and the like, went out of her way to show support.

Mayor Belmonte shared that her administration fully understands and appreciates the big role that electric vehicles will play both in the short term and long term, particularly with their “Libreng Sakay” program. The city has been transitioning towards a green environment and is pivoting towards EV sustainable mobility.

The decision to establish a dedicated hub for Foton vehicles shows that the company listens to its customers, addresses their concerns and invests on what is needed, such as dedicated chargers per vehicle, the Foton EV service and parts center, etc.

For those who keep asking how far can a Foton commercial EV go, brochure info indicates a range of 195/274 kilometers on the low side to an average of 300 to 360 km on the far side. The Foton fully electric vehicles hub is located at A. Bonifacio Ave. in Quezon City.

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A regular reader of CTalk requested me to write about my experience with the vegetable or plant-based diet that started as a trial run more than three years ago and is now long-term for me and my wife Karen.

After our first year on the plant-based diet, my wife noticed that my pain relievers had all expired simply because I stopped taking them as most, if not all, my aches and pains were gone. The diet also helps keep your weight in check.

When we shifted to a plant-based diet, we were averaging 80 percent vegetables on every plate. To make the transition easier, we incorporated the San Miguel Corp “Veega” meat-free meals that tastes just like meat without the guilt.

We also shifted from traditional fast-foods to plant-based meals which are now available at Burger King, Army-Navy and others. We regularly go to Gerry’s Grill and Max because they have a wide variety of plant/vegetable meals.

Over the years, I have learned that freshly picked farm produce cooked over low fire or slow and low burn using only natural herbs, some salt and soup stock or battered with eggs is the best way to cook veggies. Never over-cook!

For protein, we rely on tofu, beans, eggs and the occasional meat cheat because our doctor said so! With food inflation today, we all have the right reasons to grow vegetables anywhere and everywhere and eat what we grow.

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