Chery has teased an as-yet-unreleased pick-up truck codenamed KP11 at their Global User Summit in Wuhu.
The model, which previews an upcoming pick-up similar in size to the popular Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux utes, will likely see production in 2025 and is rumoured to be coming with three choices of drivetrain, including a 2.4-litre ICE variant, a 1.5-litre turbo model twinned with dual motors for 326hp, similar to the BYD Shark 6 set-up, and potentially a full EV as well.
We can exclusively reveal that the frontrunner for the truck’s name is Himalaya, with Chery keen on giving the truck a rugged name synonymous with famous mountains.
The model on display had a blacked out interior suggesting it isn’t particularly close to production just yet, but the exterior is certainly aggressively styled with a bold grille dominating the front end and Chery lettering writ large across it.
The split headlight design, wide front arches, and rugged lower bumper, which includes a chrome bash plate, give the KP11 an imposing presence, while all-terrain BFGoodrich tyres suggest off-road ability will be a priority for a truck that’s likely to see sales in markets as diverse as South East Asia, Australia, and South America.
A dual-cab design, the KP11 also sports a large load-bed of around 1.2-1.5-metres in length, making it clearly more targeted at trade users who need the additional length not afforded by something like the smaller Riddara Horizon, and Chery demonstrated one of the potential alternative use cases for this with a factory-fit tent arrangement.
The taillights take on quite a technical design with hockey stick-shaped elements and sit either side of a large tailgate again emblazoned with Chery in large letters. This early model doesn’t appear to have any charging sockets built-in but you’d expect that to change on a production version, but there is a camera on the tailgate for 360-degree functionality, and a tray step on the rear bumper similar to that on the Ford Ranger which enables easy entry to the load bay.
We’re not expecting to see much of the KP11 until perhaps the next large Chery event in around March or April next year, but we’ll keep our ears to the ground for any news on its development as we get it.
