JAC to hunt Everest and Prado with new large SUV

Having only launched into the Australian market late last year with a solitary model, the T9 ute with just two variants, Chinese newcomer JAC is a comparative unknown in the increasingly-crowded Aussie vehicle landscape. By the end of next year, however, it could be collecting some big scalps.

Minutes after giving media a preview of its scorching T9 Hunter plug-in hybrid ute (pictured), JAC’s local chief explained that the Hunter will be just one of six new JAC models and variants to arrive in Australia before the end of 2026.

With 385kW of power, a colossal 1000Nm of torque and a targeted 100km of EV-only range, the Hunter PHEV is already getting off on the right foot. Those stats will comfortably put ute rivals like the BYD Shark 6, GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV and Ford Ranger PHEV in its shadow, though with a projected Aussie arrival date of Q1 2026, JAC is giving them a sizable head start.

But there’s at least one other vehicle in JAC’s Australian product plan that also has the potential to bruise the egos of its rivals and upset the status quo - a body-on-frame large SUV based on the T9 ute.

“I would love to get an SUV in Australia,” said Ahmed Mahmoud, Managing Director of JAC Motors’ Australian importer, LTS Auto.

“We’re working with our friends in JAC China. We know our competitors have got SUV variants of their utes, we know they do well, and we’d dearly love to work a business case for that as well.”

So, a large SUV based on the T9 ute’s underpinnings is clearly a high priority for JAC, and there’s definitely plenty of volume in that segment for it to steal. Right now, the current king of ute-based SUVs is Ford’s Everest, with the Isuzu MU-X, Toyota Fortuner, LDV D90 and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport also fitting the same template. But an SUV based on the JAC T9 would have a secret weapon that could blow all of them out of the water: a monstrous powertrain.

If JAC were to spin a family wagon off the T9’s platform, logic would dictate that slipping the aforementioned Hunter’s potent plug-in hybrid powertrain underneath it would be an easy win. If that could be achieved, JAC would very quickly go from “who?” to having segment leadership for power and torque. Sure, 385kW and 1000Nm might be overkill for a family hauler, but since when was excess unfashionable?

On the other side of the coin, the green credentials of a PHEV powertrain would also be a unique selling point in the large SUV segment, which is currently dominated by the hybrid-less Toyota Prado and Ford Everest. It would arguably be critical for survival in a post-NVES world too.

It might not be fully electric, but with the Hunter’s petrol-electric powerplant boasting a 31.2kWh battery and an expected circa-100km EV-only range, it should be able to handle the majority of trips without burning a drop of fuel.

What about a pure EV? The engineering has already been done on putting an all-electric powertrain in the T9 platform, however JAC’s appetite for EVs isn’t as strong as its desire for PHEVs. According to Mahmoud, while Australian EV infrastructure still lags well behind more EV-friendly countries like China, a hybrid option meshes better with Australian wants and needs:

“We’ve all seen what hybrid is doing at the moment,” Mahmoud said. “Ten years ago, hybrid was a difficult proposition. Now you have to wait 12, 18 months for some of the hybrid makes.”

On top of that, price point is also a core consideration. With hybrids generally less expensive to manufacture than resource-intensive EVs, hybrid utes allow a better profit/affordability balance.

“For us, we’ve got to make sure that we’ve got a good value proposition.”

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