Move aside BYD Shark 6 ute! Plug-in hybrid power mooted for 2026 MG U9 as petrol-electric alternative to the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Kia Tasman confirmed

Australia’s ute market is about to get very crowded.

MG is launching its new U9 dual-cab ute Down Under this September. The U9 joins new entrants such as the Kia Tasman, JAC T9, LDV Terron 9 and the coming Chery ute that is due in 2026.

The U9 will initially be diesel-powered and target big names such as the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger and Mitsubishi Triton, but that is just the beginning according to MG Australia boss Peter Ciao.

“Yeah we will have pure electric, plug-in and diesel [U9]. Everything,” he said.

“We have already started the development of [plug-in hybrid] long time ago. The car is coming.”

This puts MG on a collision course with the smash hit BYD Shark 6 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) ute and the recently launched Ford Ranger PHEV.

Mitsubishi, Nissan and Toyota are all believed to be developing a plug-in hybrid version of their dual-cab workhorses, too.

BYD’s Shark 6 ute has led the way with it rising up the sales charts, but its 2500kg towing capacity, below average off-road ability and poor payload will push it off some buyers lists. The U9 would need to beat those numbers.

Plug-in hybrid versions of the U9 are a bit of a mystery.

The U9 could borrow plug-in hybrid power from its stablemate Maxus brand in China. The big Maxus Everyone 9 Super Hybrid people mover uses a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine and an electric motor to make combined outputs that could be north of 250kW and 600Nm.

The addition of an extra motor to add all-wheel drive could boost performance above the Shark 6’s 321kW and 650Nm.

The Everyone 9 Super Hybrid also comes with a monster circa-40kWh battery than delivers a driving range of up to 225km — albeit via the lenient China light-duty test cycle (CLTC) rather than the benchmark WLTP — and provides a combined during range of more than 1300km.

If MG can bring similar numbers to a plug-in hybrid version of the U9 it’ll be an impressive machine on paper.

We know the diesel-powered U9 rides on a rough and tumble ladder-frame chassis, as do most dual-cab utes.

It will be powered by a new 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine delivering 164kW, and paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission.

It will be able to tow 3500kg and carry a one-tonne payload, plus it’ll have off-road capabilities.

The MG U9 shares its underpinnings with the LDV Terron 9, which has already confirmed a fully electric version and the U9 version is expected to be mechanically identical.

That’ll mean it’ll run a dual-motor four-wheel drive setup, good for 430km of WLTP-rated range and 325kW of power, which is paired with a monster 102kWh battery and 3500kg braked towing capacity.