New Malaysian brand SAF to launch April – Striker pick-up and Landfort SUV based on Foday models

foday_landfort

It appears that a new national carmaker will be formed soon. Azizul Hj Tandek, managing director of Enggang Keramat Automobile, told paultan.org that the company will be launching a new Malaysian car brand called SAF – named after the arrangement of Muslims in prayer – in April this year.

The new lineup will consist of rebadged versions of models from the Chinese brand Foday, namely the Lion F22 pick-up truck and the Landfort seven-seater SUV. The two vehicles will be badged as the SAF Striker and SAF Landfort respectively, and will look identical to the Foday models, albeit with SAF badging. Both models will be built at Oriental Assemblers in Tampoi, Johor, the same company that also assembles Chery models in Malaysia.

Only one engine will be available from launch – a Mitsubishi-derived 4G69S4N 2.4 litre petrol engine delivering 134 hp at 5,250 rpm and 200 Nm of torque from 2,500 to 3,000 rpm. Five-speed manual and six-speed automatic transmissions are on offer, as is a choice of either two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive (Striker pick-up will be 4×4 only).

Foday Lion F22 59

The Striker is expected to be priced below RM100,000, while the Landfort SUV is slated to cost less than RM150,000. Exact kit has yet to be decided, but both models should come with dual airbags and ABS with EBD; no stability control on offer, however.

Enggang Keramat is looking at an initial run of 100 units for each model when the brand is launched next month, available at 20 dealers nationwide – all 3S centres – in both Peninsular and East Malaysia.

So, what do you think about Malaysia’s next homegrown car brand? Do you think it can succeed in our current automotive market? Sound off in the comments section after the jump.

GALLERY: Foday Lion F22


GALLERY: Foday Landfort

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.

10% discount when you renew your car insurance

Compare prices between different insurer providers and use the promo code 'PAULTAN10' when you make your payment to save the most on your car insurance renewal compared to other competing services.

Car Insurance

Jonathan Lee

After trying to pursue a career in product design, Jonathan Lee decided to make the sideways jump into the world of car journalism instead. He therefore appreciates the aesthetic appeal of a car, but for him, the driving experience is still second to none.

 

Comments

  • AI-generated Summary ✨

    Comments about the SAF brand focus on skepticism regarding its quality and value, criticizing it as a rebadged Chinese vehicle with underpowered engines and questionable performance, especially for the pick-up segment. Many express doubt about its competitiveness in Malaysia’s market, citing the small market size and the price points, with some calling out its resemblance to existing models like the Ford Ranger. There are also concerns about the practicality of rebadging and the lack of innovation or R&D involvement, alongside doubts whether it can compete with established brands due to perceived low quality. Overall, sentiments tend toward skepticism and disappointment, with many considering it as just another rebadge effort that may struggle to succeed commercially.

  • your mother on Feb 29, 2016 at 10:53 pm

    Chinese car.. ewwww…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 33 Thumb down 19
    • Noob Company on Mar 01, 2016 at 12:33 am

      Why not introduce Taiwanese brand Luxgen? Their cars are even better equipped with safety specs and all the driver assistance technologies and infotainment systems are unique from the other brands. Why rebadge this cheap Chinese cars?

      Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 50 Thumb down 0
      • cheap… more profits la … apa lagi….

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 28 Thumb down 0
      • WT Fuchhh on Mar 01, 2016 at 9:16 am

        Dumb..dumb…Want to do a re badge, then rebadge the best instead of this shiiit. Rebadge …lah Cadillac, alfa, Dodge,….

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 21 Thumb down 2
        • Azahari on Mar 01, 2016 at 1:23 pm

          Dodge?? Its a crappy car. Proton is better build than Dodge. I believe you haven really seen a Dodge before. They better change name to Dodgy.

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 12
          • TheOtherGuy on Mar 01, 2016 at 5:24 pm

            You drove dodge before? you do know dodge is a seriously old brand since 1900, and many of their old car are still moving? NVM dodge from 1990s, I also don’t know what they are thinking.

            Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
      • khalid on Mar 01, 2016 at 9:22 am

        Anything but Proton.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 19
      • Leonardo on Mar 01, 2016 at 9:54 am

        Yes, Luxgen is a nice car, but unfortuantely it is only avialble in Left Hand Drive version.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 0
    • jemah on Oct 24, 2016 at 3:59 pm

      this is chinese car but enjing,body,chasis from mitsubishi pajero…mehhh

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Another new national car brand? What Paultan meant is there is another copy-paste car brand just like the previous two ‘national car’. Well i hope this new ‘national brand car’ will not heavily rely on copy-paste and make an actual national car.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 30 Thumb down 6
    • John Beng on Mar 01, 2016 at 1:32 am

      Yes don’t rebadge anything from Suzuki also.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 4
      • Azahari on Mar 01, 2016 at 1:26 pm

        Rebadge is normal these days in car industry. They build some, they share platform some, the rebadge some. Depending on the market volume of that particular model. It is a business decision.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 1
  • Jimmy on Feb 29, 2016 at 11:06 pm

    Think carefully with brains.

    Consumers now purchase with brains. And they in the Peninsular Malaysia vote with brains. And they will vote for 6 airbags + ESP.

    148 888 to advertise discount 15k to make it 133 888, is it? Is it like that?

    To me this business is a tough one, ought to be managed by Coke Hope Nine, Mr Gula.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 2
    • John Beng on Mar 01, 2016 at 1:35 am

      Buying rebadge old Accord at Rm140k price is simply brainless too.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 21 Thumb down 17
  • good quality no problem

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 4
  • Sgt Scoop on Feb 29, 2016 at 11:24 pm

    Who’s going to buy those? A petrol pick-up with 200nm? Nobody’s buying this tat when it’s cheap from China. I hope it’s even cheaper when it’s made in Johor.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 3
    • John Beng on Mar 01, 2016 at 1:44 am

      Nobody should buy old rebadge Accord at Rm140k also. It’s simply crazy and pure lunacy.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 13 Thumb down 18
  • old horse on Feb 29, 2016 at 11:29 pm

    HAHAHAHA!!!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 1
  • shawal on Feb 29, 2016 at 11:35 pm

    rebadged china cars….
    150k….
    What are they smoking….

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 63 Thumb down 1
  • Peter on Feb 29, 2016 at 11:39 pm

    Rebadged Chinese Car? 100k & 150k? In bolehland!?
    Did they even get a proper market survey bfr this?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 50 Thumb down 1
    • John Beng on Mar 01, 2016 at 1:51 am

      Equally enough pretenders to buy old rebadge Accord at Rm140k price. Each market surely got idiots to serve.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 20 Thumb down 21
      • Peter on Mar 01, 2016 at 1:48 pm

        If they re-badge some popular marque there’re still some logic in it … but they’er doing some double challenges, selling re-badge of something locals not used to hear on premium above what locals could even imagine! This’s insane or else must be money-laundering! Where’s our MACC? O… they’re abt to be replaced by najib in few months … sigh … hopeless!

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • What is the point of a new ‘homegrown’ car brand if they are just rebadging cars from outside?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 37 Thumb down 0
    • John Beng on Mar 01, 2016 at 1:48 am

      Yes it’s pointless to rebadge Suzuki cars too. Simply brain dead solution for a loser company.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 18
  • LandoCar on Mar 01, 2016 at 12:16 am

    This one can qualify for OKU price ah? No duty for Malaysian made (cut and paste) cars.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1
  • BeemerFreak on Mar 01, 2016 at 12:22 am

    Petrol powered pickup that’s not at least a v6, these people don’t know what they are selling.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 1
  • donno on Mar 01, 2016 at 12:40 am

    If the pickup is priced at 60k, under a proper malaysian brand, probably it would work. Proton, do another Accordana with a pickup this time round.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 1
  • Najib` on Mar 01, 2016 at 12:45 am

    200 Nm? That’s a seriously underpowered engine for vehicles of this class!

    And at those prices, no price-advantage either when you can have Mitsubishi Triton & Isuzu MUX.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 23 Thumb down 1
  • Aero (Member) on Mar 01, 2016 at 1:05 am

    Oh dear… I lost hope the moment I read ‘Oriental Assemblers’/ OASB… this is the same company that screwed up the following brands, in order; Honda (now built at HMSB Melaka), Mercedes-Benz (n.b.a HAMM Pekan), Peugeot (n.b.a NAM Gurun), Hyundai (n.b.a Inokom Kulim) and most recently, Chery… which was one of the first successful Chinese car companies here, but has pretty much disappeared from our market today. What makes anyone think that this SAF brand will be any different ? And I haven’t even included Oriental Assemblers’ early history, then known as General Motors Malaysia (GMM), and originally Capital Motor Assembly (CMA). Almost all the brands/ franchises that started life at OASB’s plant have either transitioned to others or left our market. It’s true that the OASB plant has assembled the most diverse range of cars for over 45 years, they are one of the oldest plants in Malaysia today… but that’s that. It’s difficult to ignore OASB’s lack of consistency and quantity over quality approach.

    Malaysia should only have ONE national car company. We cannot afford to prop up a whole bunch of them, in the end, we will spread our resources thin and none will succeed. Dr. Mahathir made a huge mistake (I believe he admitted it sometime back) when he created Perodua and later, when it started to fail, sold off its manufacturing division to Daihatsu in the early 2000s. What should have happened, IMHO, is Perodua and Proton should’ve been merged sometime after the Waja launch and before AFTA/ mid-2000s. Hyundai and Kia also merged by the 2000s (Hyundai bought Kia), and Daewoo (then more prominent than Kia) went bankrupt and was bought over by General Motors. Proton only survived because they had huge cash reserves.

    Anyway, back to the point, I don’t believe it is wise to bring out more national BADGED companies. National badged companies only sell on the basis of preferential ‘national car status’ treatment (lowered prices) and false patriotism. There is no significant R&D involved. Only with R&D, can we progressively increase the number of high skill/paying jobs in our manufacturing industry. The products of local R&D are not subject to royalty payments for the original owners. Instead, we can license the products of local R&D to others (we receive royalties instead). Our manufacturing sectors cannot depend on low wage labour forever. We must move up the ladder and focus on high skill-orientated jobs, not labour intensive ones. In time, robots and automation will become cheap enough to replace thousands of labour intensive jobs in the automotive industry.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 75 Thumb down 4
  • skatax on Mar 01, 2016 at 1:18 am

    on first read i thought the assembly will be in Keramat – Jalan Enggang area. in future i want to name my company Setiawangsa Jelatek Auto – selling AP cars and also Sup Langgaq as side business

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 13 Thumb down 1
  • Tin Kosong on Mar 01, 2016 at 2:35 am

    A 2.4 petrol engine with only 200 Nm to move around a 2-tonne vehicle? The fuel economy and performance must be quite bad, prospective buyers will be thinking. They need a good diesel engine to compete in both pick-up and SUV segments in Malaysia. Then there is still the perception of Chinese-made cars being inferior. It will be an uphill battle, to say the least.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 23 Thumb down 0
  • Sick&tired on Mar 01, 2016 at 3:34 am

    Homegrown car brand!!?? They are just rebadging it! Thanks, but no thanks!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 21 Thumb down 0
  • So proud to see another local Malaysian brand enter the highly competetive global automobile industry. The technical nous & innovation of Malaysians are reflective of this SAF brand. I am confident that the brand will contribute greatly towards our GDP and help us achieve vision 2020. Very soon, SAF will follow the success of P1 & P2 in exporting Malaysian made automobiles

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 31
    • old horse on Mar 01, 2016 at 9:07 am

      dont siok sendiri, malaysia market is small and no one want to waste time to “really” penetrate..
      all this CKD is excuse for G and cronies to make their money, beside AP their biggest income..

      liberal the market, and more jobs will be created than this dying Protong or AP holders of this SAF badge sticking company..

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • kapchai on Mar 01, 2016 at 8:22 am

    looks like Ford Ranger copy

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 1
  • payne on Mar 01, 2016 at 8:23 am

    can be a toy car if sold below rm40k. but for for 150k? not a chance. will be next big time loser. even the wingle 5 from great wall not perform well.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1
  • DPCraft on Mar 01, 2016 at 8:41 am

    Omg this 2.4l petrol engine have lower output then 2.0l engine. Even Mazda’s 2.0l engine can have better output then this 2.4l
    I’m very curious the 0-100 result, probably 15sec or more…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Alyy8128 on Mar 01, 2016 at 8:51 am

    Another successor after Naza & Inokom.

    because they know will sell with very less quantity, thus, they just hike the price to obtain the same level of profit. No brain mathematics.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Sylinder on Mar 01, 2016 at 8:55 am

    Petrol? Power by petrol? err, i have skeptical opinion with this…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • wanthird on Mar 01, 2016 at 9:05 am

    ford ranger copy paste front face?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
  • Rebadge king and moving coffin? No way! U can join toyota & P2 in nirvana memorial. Dun include us (except for blind bashers that worship their foreign gods, jangan persoal)!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1
  • soLux on Mar 01, 2016 at 9:38 am

    so cool got clock in the middle of the dashboard!! like Merc S-Class!!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • 2.4 litre that develops 136bhp? Eh come on lah even a 13 year old 2.0 Peugeot Citroen engine can produce power like that.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • The name on Mar 01, 2016 at 10:00 am

    Why did they select SAF as the name? The explanation it was taken from ‘saf solat’ seems far fetched nobody would link it with automobiles in the first place.
    It’s more believable if they just said it stands for “South -east Asia Foday”.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 0
  • Leonardo on Mar 01, 2016 at 10:03 am

    I wonder where they pluck the pricing? Probably they have not heard about the “Red Ocean”. Please do your homework first.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • 2 words “GOOD LUCK”

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • with a 200nm petrol engine to pull a 3ton pick up…market now is talking about diesel work horse with at least 350nm torque…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • horrayooi on Mar 01, 2016 at 12:44 pm

    At these prices nobody would buy. Dream on on your profits.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Wow I never know it is easy to start a national car company! Just assembled CKD parts from the original manufacturers, give it a Malaysian sounding name, then walla you get the national car status. Seems that Mitsubishi has its finger print everywhere. The engine is based on Mitsu engine. Hyundai also started with Mitsu based engine.

    By the way in Saudi I see a lot of rebadged Proton Inspira sold as Mitsubishi Lancer…prove that rebadge business does work!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Maanpreet on Mar 01, 2016 at 2:57 pm

    Good news. Now we will have Malaysian pickup and SUV.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
  • Hmm... Much Hmm... on Mar 01, 2016 at 5:58 pm

    Their name…. Sounds like fighter jets and massively outrageous cars like Lambo or Mono. With outrageous BHP and Torques…

    Their cars… It’s so far apart that it doesn’t exist on the same dimension…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • actually u dont have to rebadge bcause u have to pay for the “blueprint”.. think smart! just have to copy the design.. and modify the design then buy established brand parts and engines from toyota/subaru/ volvo what ever la.. rather than RnD wasting time..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • robert mugabe on Mar 02, 2016 at 4:09 pm

    sinagpore armed forces later claim for copyright

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Andi Ali on Aug 20, 2016 at 1:13 pm

    Chinese brand goes to Malaysia and turns to SAF.

    I like the model, but i have no idea about the engine and other aspects. I wish someone bring Foday to Indonesia to become a competitor for Fortuner, Pajero, Navara, D-Max etc.
    SUV with lower price than competitor, it has to be good.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
 

Add a comment

required

required