Chery gearing up to take South African bakkie market by storm

Since showcasing its first bakkie, the Himla, at the Shanghai Auto Show last week, it has emerged that Chinese carmaker Chery has embarked on a relentless push in the light commercial vehicle segment.

The Wuhu-based firm is set to introduce not only one, but numerous models in South Africa from next year. And it is considering as many as five powertrain options, one of which could rival the BYD Shark as one of the most powerful bakkies in South Africa.

Truth from fiction

According to Zhang Guibing, president of Chery International, the Chery Himla, internally called the KP11, is unlikely to be one of them as the KP31 is currently being developed for export markets.

ALSO READ: Chery Himla revealed as marque’s long awaited first bakkie

The KP11 is a unibody vehicle, while the KP31 will be built on a ladder frame chassis with a different suspension.

This means that The Citizen Motoring’s short little drive on a make-shift off-road course in the Himla is nothing to go by. But regardless, it did feel very solid.

The KP31 project might not even wear the Himla moniker at all. The name Sahara has been mentioned as a possibility, and it is likely to feature very different styling to that of the Himla.

“Our initial products were only built in left-hand drive, but from next year we will have them in right-hand drive. From next year, we might bring two pick-ups to South Africa,” Guibing told a South African media delegation at Chery HQ at the weekend.

Engine options

The five powertrains on the table include two internal combustion engines: a 2.5-litre turbodiesel, which produces 140kW/450Nm, and a 170kW/378Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol.

The third is a mild-hybrid which adds electrical assistance to a 2.5-litre oil-burner. It produces 200kW/600Nm.

At the top end of the sphere are two plug-in hybrids (PHEV): a 2.5-litre turbodiesel hooked up to battery and electric motor to produce 260kW/680Nm and the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol with an electrical system producing 300kW/620Nm.

Against the opposition

The plug-in hybrid Chery bakkie will be slightly less powerful than the 320kW/650Nm BYD Shark. It will trump the incoming 290kW/670Nm JAC T9 PHEV in terms of power, but will be down on torque.

The incoming range-extending electric Riddara RD6 has outputs of 315kW/595Nm.

This means that the Chery bakkie, the JAC T9 PHEV, Riddara and BYD Shark will all be more powerful than the Ford Ranger Raptor.

Until very recently, the 292kW/583Nm Raptor was some distance ahead of the pack.

Chery claims that the KP31, which is set to be between 5400mm and 5450mm long, will feature space in the rear and more cargo space than the Ranger and Toyota Hilux.

The length of its loadbin will be 1560mm.

ALSO READ: Chery makes its official: Development on first bakkie has started