Ute News

New Chinese ute upstart JAC is looking to make its mark in Australia, confirming it will unveil an upcoming electric version of its T9 ute in April.Set to debut at the Melbourne Motor Show, the JAC T9 electric ute will best its LDV eT60 forebear by offering 4x4 from the get-go, rather than the LDV’s single rear-wheel drive drivetrain option.The dual-motor T9 EV has a 70kW/176Nm front motor and 150kW/340Nm rear motor, putting out a claimed combined 220kW/516Nm although the total of each motor added together is not usually the 'combined' output for an EV.It is equipped with an 88kWh lithium iron phosphate (or LFP) battery pack from CATL granting it a claimed 330km driving range according to the WLTP standards.Not only will it offer 4x4 from launch, but the T9 EV also has a payload rating of 900kg and a tub which can fit a full-size Australian pallet. It also has an external full-size household power outlet, offering vehicle-to-load (V2L) for such purposes as powering electric tools or camping equipment.The brand says a fast DC charge should take the battery from 15 to 80 per cent charge in 40 minutes. Further specifications, like towing capacity, are yet to be revealed.Additionally, the JAC says to expect the EV to be equipped with a similar array of equipment as its top-spec T9 Haven, including 18-inch alloys, a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster, a 10.4-inch central multimedia touchscreen, leather interior trim, heated front seats, a surround-view camera, as well as a fully fledged active safety suite.Price will be key. The T9 EV costs from around the equivalent of A$70,000 in its Chinese home market while the equivalent diesel version costs from $38,819.Locally, the T9 starts from $45,670 drive-away.JAC currently offers its T9 with a seven-year warranty, and it was awarded a maximum five-star ANCAP rating in 2024, although there is no guarantee that this will simply transfer across to the EV.The T9 EV will form part of an Australian ute market shake-up as hybrid options from GWM and BYD threaten to rattle the Ranger, HiLux, and D-Max hegemony. In addition, the T9 EV will be joined by LDV’s eTerron 9 electric ute at some point over the course of the year.Not only do traditionally popular Thai-built utes have to face increasing competition from Chinese players, but they are also staring down a need to modernise their usual diesel drivetrains in the face of Australia’s tough new vehicle efficiency standards (NVES) which impose a European-style emissions target regime on them.Each year toward 2030, the average amount of C02 permitted for the company’s entire fleet reduces to near-zero by the end of the decade.As a result, Ford will attempt to reduce its C02 footprint by launching a plug-in hybrid Ranger, while Isuzu has announced it will enter the fray with a fully electric version of its popular D-Max.

Toyota has at last sped up its EV rollout, confirming this week that it will have six new electric vehicles on sale by next year, including a battery-powered ute.

Kia Tasman gets police makeover.

Every new Chinese auto brand that launches in Australia has bold ambitions and even bolder sales targets. Some claim they want to be the top brand in Australia, others declare they will usurp much-loved brands in the top 10 sales charts in nothing flat.

Mitsubishi's Triton range will expand to once again include work-ready Cab Chassis models, including a manual 4x4!

I tried it lengthways, sideways and even on the diagonal, but despite my best efforts the box holding my new desk wouldn’t fit in the back of the Mitsubishi Triton.And then it struck me — modern utes are a bit useless.Alright, so ‘useless’ may be too strong a word, but the idea of a dual-cab ute and the reality of a dual-cab ute are incredibly different when it comes to practicality. Dual-cab utes are incredibly popular these days and are driven as much by families as they are by working tradies.Now, if you’re a tradie, I’m sure they’re a very practical choice and make working life easy, in the way you can throw your tools in the tray and blaze off to the next job. But even for tradies who need to carry anything longer than your typical desk, the tray size in a modern dual-cab is problematic.Modern dual-cab utes effectively have a square tray, not perfectly square but pretty close, which makes it convenient for smaller and shorter items but challenging when it comes to longer packages. For example, the Toyota HiLux tray is actually wider than it is long, measuring 1645mm wide but only 1570mm long. The Triton I was driving when I had my epiphany had a tray that measures 1520mm long and 1470mm wide. As for the most popular ute, the Ford Ranger, it has various sizes of tray but measures 1464mm long and 1520mm wide in the popular dual-cabs.At this point I’ll concede that a 1500mm desk is a long item and not many vehicles would accommodate such a lengthy box… except I could squeeze it into a large SUV, with the seats folded down. Or in a van. Which brings me to the most painful part of my realisation that utes aren’t as practical as they first appear - I have to concede my older brother is right about vans.You see, my brother spent over 20 years in the USA and despite many years of happiness he eventually fell in with the wrong crowd — minivan drivers. He had a US-spec Honda Odyssey and loved it so much that when he returned to Australia he found the closest possible replacement — a Kia Carnival.Being the helpful brother that I am, when he needed to move house, I offered to borrow a ute (for strictly review-related purposes, obviously) and take some of the bigger loads — you know, like fridges, couches, desks, those sorts of things. Except, it quickly emerged that the tray in the ute was basically useless (sorry, there’s that word again) when it came to shifting bigger items, the tray was far too short. Even with the tailgate down and the load secured safely it would have been protruding too far behind the ute to be safe to drive.But you know what could fit all the biggest items? My brother’s van. It was a major blow to the idea that the ute is Australia’s great invention and far superior to the daggy van.The silver lining for the ute owners, who are no doubt seething at my anti-ute attitude (even though I don’t hate them, I just don’t think they’re as practical as people think), is you’re officially off the hook to help your friends move. Because now you can simply tell them that your ute’s tray is too small and they should ask their friend with the people-mover instead. You’re welcome…

The big burly Chevrolet Silverado 2500 Heavy Duty is primed and ready to roll out in 2025, with a series of nips and tucks.GM Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) has made some key styling changes to the big US pick-up truck.Leading the charge are blacked-out front and rear bumpers with red recovery hooks and gloss black alloy wheels.There are three new colours to choose from including a metallic grey and a blue paint job.The core of the Silverado 2500 HD remains the same.Its monster 6.6-litre turbo-diesel V8 engine pumps out a whopping 350kW and 1322Nm. It can tow up to 4500kg and is packed with luxury gear.Some of the interior highlights include a big multimedia and digital driver’s display, heated and ventilated synthetic leather bound seats, heated steering wheel, sunroof and Bose stereo.The mildly updated 2500 HD is now $3500 more expensive, with prices starting at $166,500 (before on-road costs).The Silverado 2500 HD is proving a hit with Aussie monster truck drivers who need to tow.Almost 1500 found a new home in 2024, which was an increase of 33 per cent on the year before.2025 is off to a cracking start, too, with sales up by more than 20 per cent through the first two months.Chevrolet has now cemented itself as the king of the big slab-of-beef US trucks Down Under with the 2500 and 1500 commanding more than 36 per cent of the market.Ram is the next best with its line-up accounting for 31 per cent of sales. The Ford F-150 has carved off 24 per cent of the market and the Toyota Tundra brings up the rear with about eight per cent of sales.

Toyota is getting serious about electric cars with an EV ute on the way.

The beefed up V8-powered Ram 1500 TRX exited stage left in 2024.Now reports from the US claim it is making a comeback and will be more powerful and pumped up than ever before.US publication, Mopar Insiders, said the Ram TRX will make a comeback in 2026 with V8 power rather than the twin-turbo inline six-cylinder grunt in the new 1500.The outlet reported it could use a reworked version of its former 6.4-litre Hemi Hellcat V8 that ups power to 535kW or it could possibly get the uprated Hellcat Redeye engine that pushes power to a whopping 594kW.The report stems from a leaked email from a Dodge dealer in the US, which also showed the 5.7-litre V8 would be returning to the line-up. That engine made 291kW and 556Nm in the previous generation 1500.The move to re-install the Hemi V8 in the fast selling American pick-up truck is washing away one of the changes enacted by controversial former Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares.Stellantis is in a world of hurt as sales dip in most major markets and a return to its old ways is believed to be the way out of the hole Ram and Jeep find themselves in. Ram’s new boss Tim Kuniskis has been very open about his desire for a new product and a return to the glory years.Kuniskis said he wants a smaller ute to rival the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux. It is likely it’ll be called the Dakota.It is likely that the new mid-size ‘Dakota’ would be made exclusively in left-hand-drive, but local factory-backed 'remanufactured' conversion is now very popular. RAM Trucks Australia General Manager Jeff Barber previously said, "A mid-size ute is on our wish list for RAM in Australia. We think it would be a great fit for Australia."

The 2026 Toyota HiLux GR Sport won't just feature key upgrades to improve its capability, comfort and cabin technology, but could also feature the thumping 2.4-litre i-Force Max hybrid powertrain from the Toyota Tacoma as an engine option, according to new reports.