Today, we take a look into the booming Chinese pickup truck market. This segment is still largely unknown outside of China. However, in recent years, the export of Chinese pickup trucks has started to take off, with sales in Southeast Asia, Australia, Africa, and South America. In order for us to get a better idea about what is happening in China today, let’s start in the past.
A Short History of Pickup Trucks in China
The BAW Years: 1980s
The BAW years marked the start of the pickup truck in China. BAW (Beijing Automobile Works) had developed the BJ2032, a sturdy pickup truck chassis. It sold this chassis to other aspiring pickup truck makers. These companies designed a body, fitted fancy wheels, and sold the “new” truck under their own brand. This BAW-based reworking and rebranding system enabled the first pickup truck boom. (A bit later, BAW similarly led the way in the famous Cherokee XJ cloning scheme).
Above is the Tianye Auto BQ1030, a double-cab truck with wild decals. Note the ride height; this thing was a 4×4 with decent off-road chops.
This is the Shenyang Fengchi Automobile SQZ1021 with oversized mud flaps.
The Toyota Years: 1990s
The Toyota years started in the 1990s. It was a wild automotive time in China, with hundreds of new carmakers popping up and then disappearing. The most common pickup truck was a rudimentary machine based on the 4th-generation Toyota Hilux. The Hilux was everywhere to the point that it was mind-boggling. There were official exports to China, some joint venture production, official licensed production, official and illegal CKD (complete knock-down) production, half-copies, and full-copies.
Other Chinese firms joined in by buying chassis from licensed firms, buying only the bodies and fitting other engines, or copying the bodies and fitting real Toyota engines. It was a similar story with motors themselves, with official and semi-official production, misty CKD constructions, and illegal copying.
Check out the Shangrao Bus Factory SR1030 above, from a company that was originally a bus maker. In the 1990s, it expanded to include pickup trucks. The company still exists!
The Ford F-150 Years: early 2000s
The F-150 years were about design, not so much about production. Chinese pickup truck companies had since developed genuine chassis of their own, but they were still unable to come up with original designs. So, every brand looked at the Ford F-150, the best-selling truck in the world, and Chinese automakers switched on the copier.
The design of the F-150 was suddenly everywhere. Some copies were very good, cloning the entire design of the Ford. Others were a bit lazier, copying only the front.
The JAC 4R3 — this was probably the first time western media picked up on the Chinese pickup truck market. I had just founded CarNewsChina then, and my story on an F-150 copy by JAC made it to U.S. television.
Shown above, the Lifan Junma Projen was a modern-looking Ford clone from Yunnan Province.
Somewhat Strange Original Design: Late 2000s to early 2010s
In the early 2000s, a new era arrived. Most, not all, Chinese pickup truck makers stopped copying other designs and grabbed a pen. That led to many novel designs, sometimes a bit strange, but generally original.
GWM Wingle 3
Wingle is a brand under Great Wall Motors (GWM). The 2006 Wingle 3 was a cool truck with rather rounded lines and a tiny rectangular grille. It came with various four-cylinder engines (gas or diesel) and either a five-speed or six-speed auto.
FAW-GM Kuncheng
This is a nice one: the Kuncheng made by the short-lived FAW-GM joint venture. It looked quite sporty, mixed up with a lot of bling. It’s also got a gas or diesel four-cylinder hooked to a manual transmission.
Gonow Troy 300
The Gonow Troy 300 had a more refined appearance, with a large gray bumper & grille combination. (Again, four-cylinder, manual transmission).
The Weird Rules
China’s rules for pickup trucks are odd, and they differ by city. China is much less centralized than many people realize. Rules that consider sales, anti-pollution, license plates, subsidies, and more are set locally, at the municipality or city level.
Generally, pickup trucks are classified as commercial vehicles, just like heavy trucks. Commercial vehicles are considered less safe and more polluting than passenger cars. Therefore, in most cities, pickup trucks are not allowed into the center of town. This ban includes sales, so if you were shopping for one, you had to go to the faraway suburbs. This rule is slowly changing with the ascent of electric and hybrid pickup trucks.
An interesting rule about safety is the requirement for all pickup trucks to have 3M reflective tape around the bed to make the bed’s edge more visible for other traffic. It is a very old rule, dating back to the days when pickup trucks were primitive machines with tiny lights. However, the rule hasn’t been abandoned yet. When a new pickup truck is delivered to a customer, it has the tape. But some owners simply take it off, and that’s okay, as long as they put it back on for the yearly inspection!
Another super weird one is the requirement to spraypaint the vehicle’s bed height and maximum load on the driver’s door. This requirement dates back to the days when Chinese transport firms overloaded their trucks all the time, which caused lots of accidents. This overload problem doesn’t matter for modern pickup trucks, let alone for lifestyle pickup trucks that won’t carry more than a bike. The owners of these vehicles don’t like the rule. It is real paint, hard to take off, and it looks ugly. Some cities have dropped this rule for privately registered vehicles.
Today: trends, power, the market, and badass brands
Chinese carmakers offer pickup trucks with many powertrains, including good old diesel, gasoline, PHEV, EREV, and EV. Most ICE trucks are available with gasoline and diesel engines, some trucks are available with ICE and EV powertrains, and a few are PHEV-only.
Huanghai Weiling: gasoline & diesel.
Huanghai is a lesser-known Chinese brand, but they’ve been around for ages. The Weilong (‘Dragon’) is a typical example of a modern RWD midsize pickup truck. It has a shiny front and lots of plastic cladding.
Huanghai offers two engines: a 2.4 turbo with 218 hp and 236 ft-lbs or a 2.5 turbodiesel with 150 hp and 258 ft-lbs. The gearbox is an 8-speed automatic. The Weilong costs just 113.800 yuan or $15.4K.
It has needle dials, loads of buttons, and a giant touchscreen — a strange combo.
BYD Shark: PHEV.
BYD does it much better. The company realized the market for modern pickup trucks was small in China, but large elsewhere in the world. The BYD Shark is an export-only pickup truck. It launched in Mexico in 2024 and has since been launched in various other markets, from Australia to Brazil to Thailand.
In Mexico, the Shark competes directly with American and Japanese trucks. The Shark is a 430-hp AWD PHEV, combining a 1.5 turbo with two electric motors. It has a 840-kilometer range. In Mexico, it sells for 899.980 Mexican pesos or $44.47K.
Qiyuan E07: EREV & EV
Qiyuan calls the E07 a transformer, as it can morph from SUV-coupe into a pickup truck (like the GMC Envoy XUV). It is powerful, too. The EREV AWD has 492 hp, and the EV AWD has a massive 598 hp. That’s 0-100 in 3.61 seconds! Not 3.6, nope, 3.61 it is.
Qiyuan advertises the E07 as a good truck for fishing. The brand also sells a Movement Module, with a side tent and a mobile kitchen. Prices start at 199.900 yuan or $27.4K.
Extra points for the passenger-screen’s location. It doubles as a sun visor. Earlier Qiyuan cars used a camera for the vanity mirror, but consumers didn’t like it. So Qiyuan installed a physical vanity mirror hinged on the roof. Fun fact: To open the mirror, you need to open the screen first.
Qiyuan signed a co-branding deal with the Transformers franchise. The Qiyuan is expected to star in he upcoming Transformers 8 movie.
Radar King Kong: EV.
Radar is one of the many brands under the Geely Group. Radar was founded in 2022 as an electric pickup truck lifestyle brand. Somewhat amazingly, only Radar makes pure electric pickup trucks based on a dedicated EV platform. All other electric trucks are based on an ICE truck or a shared platform.
The Radar King Kong, formerly known as the RD6, is a somewhat soft-looking ute with a length of 207 inches. The RWD version has 272 hp, and the AWD has 428 hp, good for 0-60 mph in roughly 4.5 seconds. The base model costs 136.800 yuan ($18.6K), fitted with a 63 kWh LFP battery; range is 285 miles.
This is the Horizon Science and Technology Innovation Edition, developed for farmers. It comes complete with a drone platform in the bed and an agricultural spraying drone.
SUV-based Utes
Unibody utes are rare in China. There are only two on the market right now, and both look odd.
Sinotruck VGV VX7
Sinotruck is one of China’s largest state-owned truckmakers. The company makes all sorts of heavy trucks and buses and vans. It also sells a small series of SUVs under the VGV brand. The VGV VX7 pickup truck is based on the VGV U75 Plus SUV. It looks somewhat old-school, with red 2.0 TD badges on the door.
In China, the abbreviation ‘TD’ doesn’t mean turbo diesel but Turbo Direct-injection — very confusing for foreign buyers. I’ve had heated late-night discussions in bars with customers looking to buy Chinese vehicles. “But that’s a diesel, Tycho!”
Hence, the engine of the VX7 is a 2.0 turbocharged gasoline unit with 224 hp and 284 ft-lbs. It has an 8-speed automatic.
As you can see, if you own a flower shop, this is the truck for you.
The VX7 costs $16.4K. Check out this cool video:
Farizon FX
Farizon is a commercial vehicle brand under the Geely Group. Farizon makes hydrogen-powered trucks that look like Storm Troopers, as well as lots of electric vans and the interesting FX unibody pickup truck.
The FX is based on the Geely Boyue Pro SUV. Farzizon simply glued a cargo area to the rear, and that was it. The shiny wheels do a good job distracting the eyes from the odd proportions.
A fake wood floor never looked this classy.
Lots of chrome for a ute, the shiny stuff is everywhere. Power: 1.8 turbo with 184 hp and 221 ft-lbs, mated to an 8-speed automatic. Farizon will sell you an FX for $16.4K, which, fuzzily, is exactly the same base price as Sinotruck asks for the VX7.
The Market
The pickup truck market is quite small compared to the passenger car market. Each month, sales are around 40.000 units. In February, 44,000 trucks were sold. Let’s have a quick look at the April 2025 Top 10:
- Great Wall Motors: 18.069.
- JMC: 5036.
- Changan: 4783.
- JAC: 4465.
- Maxus: 3817.
- Zhengzhou-Nissan: 2676.
- Foton: 1809.
- Jiangxi-Isuzu: 1508.
- ZX Auto: 1417.
- Radar: 392.
The absolute sales champion is Great Wall Motors, and the fastest-growing brand in April was JMC. Most pickup trucks are sold in provinces with a large agricultural industry. The Top 5 are Sichuan, Yunnan, Xinjiang, Shandong, and Inner Mongolia.
It is also notable that state-owned firms are well-represented, just like in the heavy truck market, and unlike in the passenger car market, where privately-held firms are doing better than state-owned companies. From the Top 10, the following companies are (partially) state-owned (central, provincial, or municipal): Maxus, JAC, Changan, JMC, and Zhengzhou. There are just two Chinese-foreign joint ventures in the Top 10 and both are Chinese-Japanese.
Badass Trucks
Until the early 2000s, pickup trucks were seen as work vehicles. Pickup trucks were for construction companies, farms, and the government. That started to change in the mid-2000s when China got richer, and folks started to get interested in high-powered lifestyle pickup trucks. Time to have a look at a flock of China’s most badass trucks. In no particular order:
DaDao Flying General
DaDao is a pickup truck brand owned by Jiangling Motor Corporation (JMC). DaDao makes rugged lifestyle pickup trucks. The DaDao Flying General is the ruggedy ruggedest of the line. The Flying General has a snorkel, lots of ground clearance, off-road tires, and a prominent black grille. Snorkels seem to be a new trend in China’s pickup truck land, I suddenly see them all over the place.
JMC offers two engines for the DaDao: a 2.3 turbocharged gasoline unit with 255 hp/332 ft-lbs and a 2.3 turbocharged diesel with 174 hp and 332 ft-lbs. The petrol engine is called FIRE, which is typical for an engine. The diesel, however, is called PUMA, which is much better. The gearbox is an 8-speed automatic, 4-wheel drive.
The Flying General is 218 inches long with a 128-inch wheelbase. The bed is five feet long. The truck costs 199.800 yuan or $27.5K
Dongfeng Warrior MS600
Warrior is a brand under Dongfeng Motor Corporation (DFM). The Dongfeng Warrior MS600 is the largest Chinese pickup truck, with a double cabin and six seats. It is large even by American standards, with a length of 230 inches and a 145-inch wheelbase.
The engine is a 6.7-liter turbo diesel with 314 hp and 774 ft-lbs. Dongfeng Cummins Engine Corporation (DCEC) manufactures the engine. DCEC is a joint venture between DFM and Cummins Inc., founded in 1996, making engines for civilian and military vehicles. The D6.7NS6B320 is marketed as a bus engine. It has a six-gear AMT with four-wheel drive. The fuel tank has a capacity of 37 gallons.
The truck has a ground clearance of over 13 inches, an approach angle of 32 degrees, a departure angle of 30 degrees, and a wading capacity of more than 33 inches. It looks great, with massive doors, runningboards, wide wheel arches, and a Ford-inspired decoration on the front fender. It cost 516.800 yuan or $71K. Dongfeng also sells an SUV version and a camper.
Dongfeng Warrior M50 flatbed special vehicle
The M50 is a successor to the original Dongfeng EQ2050, which was largely based on the AM General HMMWV. Dongfeng Warrior makes dozens of variants of the M50, military and civilian. The M50 flatbed special vehicle is the main civilian pickup truck variant. It has 3 windshield wipers hinged atop the window, Hummer-style. The civilian version has red detailing in the grille and black 8-spoke alloy wheels.
The engine is a DCEC 4.0-liter V8 turbo-diesel with an output of 194 hp and 442 ft-lbs. It has a five-speed manual gearbox and four-wheel drive. The M50 is 209 inches long with a 150-inch wheelbase. The bed is about 4.5 feet long. The maximum climbing angle is an impressive 60 degrees, so this thing can go camping where no other car can go. The M50 costs more than the M600, with a base price of 668.800 yuan or $92K.
Brilliant engineering above, right?
JAC Hunter
JAC is a large state-owned car maker that builds everything from small electric cars to heavy diesel trucks. The JAC Hunter is a large pickup truck with an impressive front. The grille extends over the hood and around the daytime running lights. It has mud flaps, running boards, and wide black wheel arches. The Hunter is 210 inches long with a 122-inch wheelbase.
JAC offers two engines for the Hunter: A 2.0-liter turbodiesel with 170 hp and 302 ft-lbs and a 2.0 turbo with 231 hp and 280 gt-lbs. The gearbox is an 8-speed automatic. The top speed is limited to 93 mph. The JAC Hunter costs 154.800 yuan ($21.5K).
Hunter EV
Last year, JAC unveiled an EV version of the Hunter, set to launch in Q3. The closed-grille design works very well. The EV has a twin-motor AWD setup, an 88 kWh LFP battery, and a 311-mile range.
Foton Mars 9
Foton is a commercial vehicle brand owned by BAIC. In 2023, Foton launched a new line of heavy-duty pickup trucks under the Mars (火星) name. The advertisements have a planetary theme, with a Space Shuttle. The Foton Mars 9 is the top model of the Mars range. It features a big black grille, large mirrors, a roof rack, and cool BF Goodrich off-road tires.
The Mars 9 has a 2.0 turbo with 245 hp and 280 ft-lbs. There is also a diesel, an interesting 2.0 turbo + 48V. It is rare to see 48V MHEV technology combined with a diesel engine in China. The output is 163 hp and 332 ft-lbs. The transmission is an 8-speed automatic gearbox.
The Mars 9 is a big truck: 220 inches with a 130-inch wheelbase. Foton sells a dozen variants of the Mars 9. On average, it costs around 170.000 yuan or $23.5K.
Poer Artillery
Poer is a high-end pickup truck brand under Great Wall Motors. The Chinese name is 炮, Pào, which means Cannon. A cannon’s muzzle inspired the logo. Originally, the English name was Cannon, which was super cool. But GWM changed the name to Poer, an Anglicized variant of Pào.
The Artillery is a cool two-door truck with a snorkel. The name is even better in Chinese: 火炮. So the full name is 炮火炮, Pào Hupào, literally cannon artillery.
The Artillery is marketed as a rough ‘n ready off-road machine, with a 26-degree departure angle, a 34-degree approach angle, and a 9.33-inch ground clearance. It has a snorkel, black wheels with red brake calipers, and a rack in the bed.
The Artillery is based on a body-on-frame chassis. Power: 2.0 turbo with 214 hp and 280 ft-lbs. It has an 8-speed automatic and all-wheel drive. The Poer Artillery costs 182.800 yuan or $25K.
ZX Auto 1949
ZX Auto, or Zhongxing Auto, is a personal favorite because I almost bought a ZX Auto Admiral SUV when I arrived in China back in 2003. In the end, I went for a second-hand Beijing Jeep Cherokee. ZX Auto’s most badass truck is the ZX 1949, named after the year the company was founded. The factory photo shows a pretty red car next to an old airplane.
ZX Auto has a super detailed spec sheet on its website. In the 2000s, every Chinese carmaker had this kind of sheet. But when the internet went mobile, most carmakers canceled these kinds of pages. But Zhingxing didn’t. Around the same time, most automakers simplified their lineup, with fewer variants and fewer engine choices. But again, not Zhongxing.
The 1949 is 214 inches long with a 127-inch wheelbase. Buyers can choose between a 161-hp 2.3-liter turbo diesel and a 195-hp 2.0 turbo gasoline engine. Its maximum load is 1311 lbs. kilos.
ZX Auto also sells a camper version called the 1949 Expedition. Its power comes from the 2.3-liter turbodiesel. It has three beds, a washing basin, an induction cooker, a microwave, and a 150-liter fridge. The top-spec Supreme version even comes with a washing machine! Camping was never this easy. The camper costs 328.800 yuan or $45K.
ZX Auto 1986 EV
The 1986 EV is a new electric pickup truck. It looks impressive with a giant closed grille and big black wheels. The 1986 name refers to the year ZX Auto launched its first pickup truck. The ZX Auto 1986 EV is set for launch in 2026. The company will offer regular-cab and crew-cab variants. It gets a ternary lithium battery for a range of 310 miles.
BAW Brave Warrior Pickup Truck
BAW is a Chinese brand making SUVs, pickup trucks, and a range of electric minicars. Brave Warrior is a series of 4×4 utes & trucks for the military and for the civilian market. The Warrior has a fanatic cult-following in China, with many clubs and modification companies.
The 2-door pickup truck is the coolest of the lot, with a super short front overhang and a split window. The official photos only show it in army green, but BAW also sells it in yellow, orange, and blue. There is also a kipper, a crane, a four-door version, and a massive 6×6.
The truck is 215 inches long with a 132-inch wheelbase. The only engine option is a 2.4-liter turbodiesel. The output is 140 hp and 258 ft-lbs. The transmission is an old-school five-speed manual. The top speed is 93 miles per hour. The bed’s size is: over seven feet, and the max load is 1962 pounds. This fantastic machine costs 138.800 yuan or $19K.
The four-door version, in purple.
Maxus Xingjie EV
Maxus is a commercial vehicle brand owned by SAIC. The Xingjie X EV is a full-size electric truck with a twin-motor all-wheel drive powertrain. The output is 474 hp and 516 ft-lbs. It is the strongest electric truck in China right now, and the most expensive: 299.800 yuan or $41K.
The battery capacity is 102 kW for a range of 348 miles. The GMC goes 314 miles on a 246.8 kWh battery.
The Maxus Xingjie EV is strong enough to carry a canoe.
Maxus also sells a petrol version, with more shine, less cool, and less power: a 2.5 turbodiesel with 355 hp and 383 ft-lbs. IT is a lot cheaper, though, with a base price of 155.800 yuan or $21.2K.
The Future Of Chinese Pickup Trucks
The Chinese pickup truck market will expand further in China, especially in the lifestyle segment. There will be more EV and PHEV trucks, but gasoline and diesel power will stay around for a long time.
The market will continue to attract new entrants from all over the place. For example, Chery, a typical passenger brand, will launch a series of fully amphibious trucks and SUVs under the Jetour Zongheng brand.
The rise in exports will continue. Chinese pickup trucks are now sold in Africa, Australia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Central America, and South America. Sales of Chinese pickup trucks in the United States are unlikely at the moment, with the import tariffs and all that fuzziness. Too bad, because some Chinese trucks could do well there, right? I know brand loyalty is a big thing, but come on — some of these trucks are just cool.
Top Photo: JMC/GAC/Depositphotos.com
If they bring over the single cab versions, they might have a chance since everyone else out there has deemed them undesirable in the mid and mini segment.
So many of these new trucks are still blatant styling rip-offs of American and Japanese trucks, and they barely even try to hide it. The JAC Hunter has the face of a GMC canyon and the rear of a new Tacoma, the ZX Auto 1986 EV is a previous gen tundra less the grill, the Huanghai Weiling is a Silverado front and few gen Old F-150 rear, the Foton Mars 9 is a 2022 Ram 1500, while the ZX Auto 1949 is a 2022 Ram 2500, the Brave Warrior is a Wrangler, and I could go on. It’s uncanny, and slightly off-putting. While the Chinese EV market is clearly advancing at an absurd rate, their pickups are clearly desperate to play catchup, and I’m not sure it’s fair to call them all entirely cutting edge.
It’s like an alternate universe over there. Thanks for sharing.
The current ones are all beyond hideous, the only thing I even remotely want is the BAW Brave (two doors, please) but I REALLY like that one.
Best of all would be one of the Toyota clones on a Beijing BJ212 chassis, but I imagine they are all gone.
Random observation… The Maxus Xingjie EV bears a strong likeness to Rivian’s truck — but with better-looking headlights.
I’d buy the 1949 Expedition in a heartbeat if it were sold here. As long as I have indoor facilities, I am happy!
I kinda like the idea of one firm designing and building the basic platform and then other companies building the body and interior. The BOF platform has essentially been optimized, so why spend time and money designing them over and over?
Quite a variety of options. Are most available in all regions of China or are buyers limited to what local dealers have?
I was always amused how almost every truck had a Toyota clone petrol or Mitsubishi clone diesel in it for years. You could also pick up a dongfeng truck for around $5k. The last 15 years have been a rapid leap for Chinese automotive. The last 7 has really been crazy to see from parity to surpassing everyone. The radar has stood out to me as something that is more designed for export and maybe testing the Chinese market trurst for something like that. I see that truck being everywhere in a few years. It’s always interesting to see what does well in Australia. People didn’t understand there were different grades or Chinese goods for years I’m not so sure they still do. I can remember 20ish years ago when the Chinese scooters and bikes started coming in it didn’t take long for some people to declare them as junk and others to find the good one and are still using the bike they bought for $1k new 20 years later.
I think they do still have different grades of housing, the investment grade that just sits as an empty shell and gets passed around as a commodity until it’s demolished and started over, and the actual residential grade that’s designed to be fully finished and lived in
They have different grades of everything. I’m not sure they cracked how to build yet or it’s just the one of if not the most corrupt industry in China. They call it Tufu dreg. Their population data is apparently wrong too so there is that. Allegedly that was driven by housing rules so retail investors simply got more identities to buy housing as investments. So it’s 600m to 800m maybe not 1.4b.