Chery Stockman team benchmarked rival utes

Chery has revealed how extensively it benchmarked some of Australia’s most famous – and infamous – utes while developing its new Stockman diesel plug-in hybrid pick-up, with the project headed up by a chief engineer who previously led work on GWM’s Cannon.

Speaking with carsales at Chery’s Wuhu, China headquarters, Stockman technical boss Mark Qi confirmed that the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger, Kia Tasman and GWM Cannon utes had all informed development targets for the Chery ute.

Qi also sought to assure buyers concerned about the longevity of the Stockman’s PHEV battery that Chery had gained considerable experience in EV and hybrid technologies and that the battery health was expected to stretch well beyond 300,000km.

Once you’ve met Mark Qi, it’s no surprise that Chery included the GWM Cannon on the list of benchmark utes for Stockman.

Previously an employee of GWM, Qi told carsales he had previously led work on GWM’s pick-up, including development of its 2.4-litre diesel four-cylinder engine – but he departed before GWM was ready to introduce its own Hi4-T plug-in hybrid system.

Asked whether he thought the Stockman was superior to the Cannon, Qi laughed.

“Yes, honestly, it must be, [but it is] like your girlfriend, or your ex-girlfriend,” he said.

It turns out Chery sought to turn several GWM employees over to the Stockman program.

Zhang Jiaming, the division chief of Chery’s Chinese pick-up arm Rely, is another former senior GWM Cannon executive.

The Stockman team studied competitors across several areas of assessment including cabin accommodation, back-seat practicality, off-road hardware, refinement, towing, and other needs of Australian buyers.

During a walkaround of a near-production Stockman, Qi described benchmarking the Tasman for rear-seat packaging and cabin space.

Qi separately said that the JAC Hunter was not regarded as an engineering benchmark.

The Stockman’s 2.5-litre diesel plug-in hybrid engine produces 350kW of power and 800Nm of torque. It uses a 34kWh battery mounted beneath the tray to provide 96km of electric range, with EV mode intended for low-speed use while the diesel handles highway work.

Chery said it had examined the Mercedes-Benz ‘OM654’ 2.0-litre diesel PHEV offered in the European-market C-Class, E-Class, GLC and GLE models.

Asked whether Stockman buyers might be facing an expensive battery replacement after 10 or 15 years, Qi pointed to the enormous number of electrified vehicles Chery had sold, arguing battery technology had matured enough to ease longevity concerns.

The Stockman will carry an eight-year high-voltage battery warranty in Australia, likely based around a guarantee that the battery will not drop below 70 per cent state of health in that time.

But Qi said the eight-year figure was a minimum, not an expectation that the battery would fail after eight years.

The Stockman engineering team is now moving into a high-paced, final-stage tuning effort**,** with Qi confirming that final validation of suspension, steering, hybrid system, braking and safety technology is still required.

That work is being conducted in Australia in October and November, with Chery hoping that mass production for our market can still begin in time for the brand to meet its self-imposed February 1, 2027, local launch deadline.

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