BYD, JMC, Great Wall Motors, Dongfeng, FOTON and JAC pickup trucks are on their way
Until COVID-19 Pickup Trucks Were NOT Allowed To be Driven In Chinese Cities. Now this is changing fast and there are new, stylish models with high technology cabins coming to market with the intention of being launched in Asia Pacific.
Annual pickup truck sales in China could reach 840,000 in 2025, more than double 2021 levels, if Beijing keeps pushing provincial governments to allow pickups to be operated in local cities.
In recent years this has changed drastically and Chinese pickup truck manufacturers are releasing new generation pickup trucks with SUV like cabins and with high safety features. Let us explain.
In China, they were mostly a basic, utilitarian vehicle used in rural areas until 2021. Yes, before COVID-19 the Chinese government banned pickup trucks from all major cities and this is why Chinese pickup truck manufacturers did not put much emphasis on the cabin refinement, safety features and also styling for pickup trucks. They were used in farms, construction and pure commercial use.
Chinese provinces in 2000 started to ban pickups in urban areas in a bid to ease traffic congestion and control air pollution.
To boost the slowing economy, Beijing in 2016 began to prod provincial governments to relax restrictions.
Meanwhile, China’s annual pickup deliveries then expanded by 10 percent from the previous year to some 452,000 in 2020.
Annual sales volume of pickup trucks in China is said to expand to 1.67 million by 2030, (according to CAAM). Pickup trucks, along with other light trucks such as crossovers and SUVS, have become some of the auto industry’s most profitable models, especially in markets such as in America and ASEAN nations.
However, 38 percent of Chinese cities still restrict the use of pickups, the industry group noted, most of which are provincial capitals or located in economically developed coastal areas.
With BYD, JMC, Chery and Great Wall Motors already have a strong presence in Asia Pacific, we will be seeing these new trucks in Malaysia before Christmas 2024.
Will this start a pickup truck price war between the new Chinese models and the tried and tested Japanese brands?
