Chery has unveiled its new ‘KP31’ ute concept, which will hit the market in Australia later in 2026. Although this is just a concept car, the production version is set to carry plenty of resemblance.
The local arm debuted the new concept to media in Sydney earlier this month, giving us a close preview of what to expect with the showroom model. Various details were also confirmed, including an interesting two-powertrain lineup plan.
Unlike most utes on the market right now, the Chery KP31 (official name not yet revealed) will be available with both a turbo-diesel plug-in hybrid system and a petrol plug-in hybrid system. More specific details on these setups are yet to be confirmed.
Being diesel means it will be eligible for some mining groups, as petrol is often banned due to its lower flash point. Diesel also, traditionally, provides more torque. So when the electric motor/s are not doing the heavy lifting or if the battery level is low, the system will be able to fall back onto the relatively high-torque diesel motor. In theory anyway – we’ll have to see how it all works when it arrives.
It’ll also come with front, centre and rear diff locks, which means it uses a centre diff so it should provide an on-road ‘4A’ style mode for all-wheel drive grip on dry tarmac.
Chery is adamant the new ute will offer a 3500kg towing capacity and 1000kg payload, which means it will have to offer a good GVM and GCM rating to cater for the entire package. Being a plug-in hybrid that offers at least 100km of electric range, the battery is likely to be pretty big and thus the kerb weight is expected to be well over 2500kg.
The local arm also says the new model is being developed to offer low noise, vibration and harshness levels, even providing a figure of “30 per cent” less than a conventional diesel ute. Lucas Harris Chery Australia chief operating officer, said:
“We’re incredibly excited to finally reveal the KP31 ute concept vehicle, and this marks the next step in bringing it to the Australian market. It’s also riveting to be the first brand to offer a diesel PHEV in the dual-cab ute class, which will be our key point of difference compared to the competition.”
In concept form, it measure 5610mm long, 1920mm wide and 1925mm tall, but the production model is set to be 5450mm in length – about the same length as the Kia Tasman and 50mm shorter than the LDV Terron 9/MG U9. The showroom model isn’t likely to come with the big chunky off-road tyres as shown on the concept, not in standard trim anyway.
Chery says it will launch the new diesel PHEV version later this year, with the petrol plug-in hybrid scheduled to arrive in Australia some time in 2027.
