Back in 2021 when Chery announced that it has returned to Mzansi, the company also announced that it would introduce a bakkie by the year 2023. That has obviously not happened. Yet. Over the past few days Chery announced a bakkie, which they are calling the KP31 internally. So it doesn’t have a commercial name yet. We strongly believe this bakkie will be offered for sale in Mzansi. In fact, we think Chery will manufacture it in Rosslyn at the Plant that it is busy taking over from Nissan.
Probably the most interesting technical detail of the KP31 is the fact that it runs a diesel plug-in Hybrid powertrain. Diesel Hybrid is not new in the industry, but it is extremely rare. The plug-in element will make it a segment-first. At the heart of it is a 2.5-litre turbo diesel engine fitted onto a ladder-frame chassis. Chery says the vehicle will target a 1 000kg payload, as well as a 3 500kg towing capacity. Playing with the big boys then.
To give it extra capabililty, triple-locking differentials and a low-range transfer case will be fitted. With these a formidable off-road machince should be at hand. At a later stage Chery plans on introducing a plug-in petrol model as well, which should compete against the likes of the BYD Shark 6.
