Former fast Ford firm helping new Chinese ute

Australia’s automotive industry is continuing its rebuild, with Melbourne-based engineering firm Premcar announced as the local testing and evaluation firm for the Chery Stockman, one of the latest electrified utes from China.

The Stockman – which had its name chosen by the Australian public – will be the first ute globally to be powered by a turbo-diesel plug-in hybrid powertrain, joining a market which has already seen success with turbo-petrol PHEVs such as the BYD Shark 6.

Ahead of its launch later this year, Premcar has been appointed by Chery to undertake in-market testing and validation of the Stockman locally, in order to make sure its ride and handling tuning is up to the task of pleasing Australian motorists.

“Chery has gone the extra mile with its first-ever Stockman ute,” said Bernie Quinn, CEO of Premcar. 

“Chery has created very specific attributes for the Stockman’s ride and handling and we are very pleased to help them test and validate their work in a variety of Australian conditions.”

It’s an area which Premcar knows well, with the firm tracing its lineage back to the Ford Performance Vehicles operation which produced some of the hottest Falcons money could buy in the 2000s and 2010s.

After its closure, Premcar became a partner to Nissan, undertaking its Warrior off-road vehicle program which has been a success with the Navara and Patrol, providing modifications to the vehicles not seen elsewhere globally.

For the new, current Nissan Navara – which is based on the Mitsubishi Triton and only sold in Australia and New Zealand – Premcar developed its damper package, producing a unique ride for the popular ute.

Most recently, it teamed up with Mitsubishi to develop the Triton Raider, bringing elements of its successful Navara Warrior program to the three-diamond ute.

It has been these projects which led Chery to approach Premcar for its assistance, something it hopes will reaffirm the Stockman as a solid choice for local buyers.

“Australia is one of the world's most demanding ute markets, and we know our customers expect a vehicle that performs confidently across everything from urban streets to highways, construction sites and remote off-road tracks,” said Chery Australia chief operating officer, Lucas Harris.

“Premcar has an outstanding reputation for engineering and vehicle validation, making them the ideal partner to help ensure Stockman is thoroughly tested and validated for Australian conditions before it reaches our customers.”

“This partnership is another example of Chery investing locally to develop vehicles specifically for Australian drivers.”

It’s yet to be determined whether Premcar will have input in changing the Chery Stockman’s ride and handling characteristics for local customers.

Chery isn’t the only Chinese brand investing in local evaluation programs. JAC’s Hunter PHEV was tested by Multimatic in Australia, while GWM has been doing things in-house with former Holden engineer Rob Trubiani.

However, Ford remains the only carmaker to undertake ground-up vehicle engineering in Australia, with the ‘T6’ platform underpinning the Ranger, Everest and Volkswagen Amarok developed locally and sold throughout the world.