Bold new JMC ute could come to Oz

JMC could return to Australia with an advanced range of all-new diesel and electric utes unveiled at last week’s Shanghai motor show.

Called the Yuhu in the Chinese domestic market and the Vigus elsewhere, the bold new Chinese ute is JMC’s best chance yet to return to Australia with a competitive product after its Australia withdrawal last year.

Speaking to carsales.com.au in China last week, JMC regional manager Amos Yue said: “The chances of the new ute coming to Australia are very good.”

JMC discontinued its lacklustre, ageing Vigus 5 last year in Australia, where it failed to gain acceptance “because it was just too old a product”, said Yue.

But he said the more contemporary Vigus 9, as it will be called in Australia, would address that problem.

Yue said that before the new JMC ute could be sold Down Under, it first needed to be engineered for right-hand drive and undergo a certification process -- but that could take as little as six months.

“We already know the Australian market, so in that sense it would be easy for us to go there,” said Yue, who was not able to put a timeframe on JMC’s return to Australia.

“That announcement has to come from upper management,” he said, adding that the Chinese brand’s return with an all-new ute could feasibly occur within the next two years.

The Yuhu 9 that made its debut at Shanghai is a facelifted version of the Yuhu 7, a model that arrived in the Chinese market in mid-2017 as the replacement to the old-school Yuhu 5.

For the Chinese market, the Yuhu 9 has a 153kW/325Nm Ford EcoBoost 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, but if exported to Oz it’s likely to be fitted with an improved version of the 88kW/290Nm 2.4-litre Puma TDCi Ford engine used in the Vigus 5 sold here until last year.

The Vigus 9’s prospects in Australia are better not only because of its looks, but because it also has the option of an auto transmission, unlike the Vigus 5. Both six-speed auto and six-speed manual gearboxes are on offer, with a part-time 4WD drivetrain.

The Vigus 9 would become one of the larger mid-size utes in the Aussie market, measuring 5375mm long, 1905mm wide and 1760mm high. Wheelbase is 3085mm.

The example displayed at Shanghai had an integrated sports bar and oversize, chunky external tie-downs. Its interior was very car-like with its two-tone brown/beige hues very reminiscent of the new Great Wall ute just across the hall.

Not to be outdone by Great Wall with its new EV ute, JMC also unveiled its Yuhu EV ute in Shanghai last week.

The Yuhu EV shares its Star Wars ‘Stormtrooper’ nose (toned down for the Yuhu 9) with the Yuhu 7 and the model shown at Shanghai was a 2WD version equipped with a 120kW/800Nm motor and a 66kW/h battery to provide a claimed NEDC 320km range. A lower output 60kW/280Nm version will also be offered.

Unlike the luxurious Yuhu 9 on display, the bold blue Yuhu EV at Shanghai underlined its commercial intent with a utilitarian grey cloth interior with rubber flooring.

The Yuhu EV is due to lob on the Chinese market in July. While Yue said that the EV ute “could sell” in Australia, he added that the company’s focus would be on getting the Vigus 9 here first.

China’s sixth largest commercial vehicle maker, JMC was founded in 1947 and is based at Xiaolan, Guangdong. JMC has 26,000 workers and annual capacity of more than 850,000 vehicles across its six production facilities.

JMC exports to 110 countries in a variety of regions including South and Southeast Asia, South and Central America, Africa, Middle East and Russia.

In 1995, it formed a joint-venture with Ford, which owns 30 per cent of JMC, to build JMC- and Ford-branded commercials, and also produces the Landwind range of passenger cars in a joint-venture with Changan.