True or false?: Despite much hype about the global prospects of its automakers, China has not become a major exporter of cars.

Answer: All of the above.

While it is true China's passenger car makers are only beginning to take on the global marketplace, a closer at the market reveals the country's truck producers already have made a dent.

Makers of large dump trucks and small pickup trucks are making inroads around the world, especially in emerging markets of Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Southeast Asia and Russia.

Those truck manufacturers are about to make an even bigger push, which was evident earlier this week in Beijing at a big media and dealer event auto maker Beiqi Foton Motor Co. hosted to unveil a new small pickup truck and discuss its global expansion strategy.

As part of its own renewed push, Foton said it plans to start selling a new, small 'high-end' pickup truck called the Tunland L by as early as the end of this year. The company is gearing up to start exporting the Tunland L to countries such as Malaysia, South Africa and Chile, with an aim to sell 5,000 of the new trucks in the overseas market next year. Foton also expects to sell about 1,000 Tunland Ls within China next year, although the China version of the pickup won't be launched until well into next year, the company said.

Wang Xiangyin, a company vice present who heads up Foton's overseas business department, admits pickup trucks have only a minimal presence within China. 'But,' he said at the launchceremony, 'they have been one of the best-selling vehicle types in overseas markets in recent years.'

The Tunland L -- which joins a small line of pickup trucks Foton has been developing since 1999 -- is part of the Beijing auto maker's effort to beef up its presence in the emerging markets.

Mr. Wang said Foton -- which is 32.8% owned by Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings Co. -- is likely to sell a total of 680,000 vehicles this year, of which only as many as 45,000 are likely to be exported to emerging markets like Russia, South Africa and Indonesia.

The company expects to boost overall sales to 873,000 vehicles by next year, with overall exports expected to hit 82,500 vehicles. By 2015, Foton aims to sell 1.86 million vehicles, 417,000 of which they hope to ship overseas.

'In the next two years, the global economy will gradually recover, and emerging markets will become the main momentum of global economic growth, ' Mr. Wang said.

Consulting firm KPMG International said in a research report published last month that 'a considerableportion" target="_blank" title="n.比率 vt.使成比例">proportion of trucks' sold in today's global heavy commercialvehicle market are now from manufacturers from China and India, such as Foton, Dongfeng Motor, FAW and Tata Motors.

While those companies sell a large portion of their heavy-duty trucks in their respective home markets, four of the top-10 manufacturers for the global market for 6-ton-or-larger trucks are from China, according to KPMG. Dongfeng, for instance, became the biggest makers of 6-ton-or-above trucks for the first time last year when it sold 300,100 trucks, displacing Daimler Trucks, for years the biggest seller in the heavy-duty vehicle market, which fell to the second spot.