China is the world’s largest automotive market, with 23 million registrations in 2018, with Chinese pickup trucks, like here, amongst the fastest-growing sectors.
As China’s middle class has grown, so has its pickup truck sales. Most of China’s biggest automotive manufacturers, the vast majority of which are alien to European buyers, now offer a pickup, and here is our pick of the best of Auto Shanghai 2019:
Foton Tunland
The Foton Tunland is one of the few Chinese pickups that sells well outside of the country. Since its launch in 2011, the Tunland has gone on sale in Australia, New Zealand, Africa and South America. The Tunland received a major facelift in 2018 and is powered by a 2.8-litre Cummins diesel engine, producing 161bhp and 360Nm, and offers a 2.5-tonne towing capacity.
Great Wall P-Series
Until Euro-6 kicked in in 2016, Great Wall was a minor player in the UK pickup market with the Steed, but the high levels of nitrogen oxide that it emitted meant it had to be pulled from sale. However, the manufacturer was out it full force at Auto Shanghai with no fewer than three pickups on its stand.
All three pickups use GW’s new ‘P71’ platform and are known at this early stage as the ‘P-Series’. Great Wall has developed new 2.0-litre petrol (161bhp/360Nm) and 2.0-litre diesel (194bhp/400Nm) engines for the P-Series, although a larger diesel engine with up to 500Nm of torque is also in development.
Both petrol and diesel engines come with the option of a 6-speed manual or the 8-speed ZF automatic, which also features in the Volkswagen Amarok V6. In addition, there is an electric version (pictured directly above) with a range of up to 500km (311 miles).
JAC T8
JAC is unique among Chinese manufacturers in that it originally started out producing heavy-duty trucks, and then moved into passenger cars. The T8 is the newest of three of pickups that JAC produces and, like most modern Chinese pickups, has downsized to a smaller turbodiesel engine producing just 140hp and 320Nm. It’s quite a looker, though!
JMC Tiger
The JMC Tiger was launched in 2017, but the front-end design – which JMC describe as the ‘Storm Trooper’ face – is already starting to look a little dated. The pickup is powered by either a 2.0-litre (205hp/325Nm) or a 2.4-litre (140hp/375Nm) diesel engine, but JMC used the show to premiere the all-new electric version, which has a 58.1kWh battery offering a 320km (200 mile) range.
Maxus T70 / LDV T70
The Maxus T70 is the slightly updated version of the T60 pickup and features a new 2.0-litre (1,995cc) diesel engine producing 168bhp/375Nm or 280bhp/480Nm, which has been developed in-house with General Motors and replaces the noisy and clunky 2.8-litre VM Motori engine that we tested last year.
Apart from the styling kit on the show model (not a standard fit), very little has changed on the inside and outside although electromagnetic steering has been added.
Qingling Taga
The Qingling Taga is one of the newest pickup trucks on the Chinese market, having made its debut only last year. The Taga is largely based on the Isuzu D-Max and employs the veteran 3.0-litre (2,999cc) 4KH1 engine, but it develops just 130hp and 280Nm.
Kaicene F70
Missing from the Auto Shanghai show was the Kaicene F70, but we’ve included it here as it will be sold in Europe, branded as a Peugeot.
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