Chery says US pick-up bubble to burst in Australia
Tough emissions rules will bring on the end of the road for new full-size, American-style utes in Australia, one of China’s top car brands has hinted.
Chery has predicted sales of full-size pick-ups will become “awkward” as the “quite impractical” vehicles become harder to produce under tougher government emissions rules.
The Chinese manufacturer is not considering a rival to super-sized ‘trucks’ from US giants Ford, Chevrolet, and Ram – as well as Japan’s Toyota Tundra – to join its first ute, the Toyota HiLux-sized KP31.
“I’m not sure, to be honest with you. I’m not sure if there’s much of a market for those super-sized utes,” Chery Australia chief operating officer Lucas Harris told Drive.
“They certainly don’t seem to be selling in any great volumes here.
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“And as all of those emissions rules come into play, I think you’ll naturally see vehicles get smaller, and so they might be a little bit awkward having those ultra super-sized utes.”
Sales of US pick-ups from Ford, Chevrolet, Ram and Toyota declined 17.4 per cent last year to 8763, compared to 212,513 regular-sized 4×4 utes, and a further 23,101 4×2 models.
It was not helped by a changeover from the old V8 to the new V6 Ram 1500 – which saw its sales down 17.4 per cent, mirroring the category – and stop-delivery notices for the Ford F-150, down 67.4 per cent.
However, among models on sale for the entirety of 2024 and 2025, only the Ram 2500 and Chevrolet Silverado HD improved its performance, up 1.9 and 12.3 per cent, respectively.
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The cheapest US pick-up on sale in Australia is the Ford F-150 at $114,950 plus on-road costs – about twice the price of a mid-grade Ford Ranger, in part due to the cost of converting it from left- to right-hand drive on arrival in Australia.
It leaves space below for a factory-built, US-sized pick-up with the same power and towing capabilities as its rivals, but a much lower price thanks to factory-built right-hand drive
Harris said the challenge facing full-sized pick-ups in Australia lies elsewhere.
“I’m not sure it’s just about price, to be honest with you. They are quite impractical, those super-sized utes,” the executive said.
No major Chinese marques sell cars in the US, amid high tariffs set by current and previous Presidents on both Chinese-made products, and imported commercial vehicles of all nationalities.
As a result, any full-sized pick-up developed by a Chinese manufacturer would need to be produced in the US – or, if made in China, would need to be popular enough in markets outside of North America to justify the investment.
While it may prove a challenge too great for Chery, rival BYD appears set to take a bite at the market with a Shark-badged pick-up of its own.
David Smitherman, CEO of BYD’s then-distributor of cars in Australia, EVDirect, told Drive in February 2025 that a full-size pick-up was on the planning board.
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“Yeah,” the executive said when asked if a full-sized BYD ute is coming, “I’m from a full-size pick-up background, [that] is my prior, prior history, so I love big utes.
“Absolutely, it’s in development.”
“… As a brand I think absolutely, that’s an area that we’d love to be in,” he said, adding “one hundred percent” when asked if the ute would come to Australia.
It is unclear if the full-sized BYD pick-up is still in development, now the Chinese car giant has switched to factory importation in Australia since July 2025.
The post Chery says US pick-up bubble to burst in Australia appeared first on Drive.
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