The takeover of Holden’s former proving grounds in Lang Lang by Vietnamese start-up VinFast in 2020 has opened the doors for even more carmakers to use the crucial facility, even Chinese brands doing battle with each other.
As reported last year, GWM (formerly Great Wall) has residency at Lang Lang and has utilised the expansive facility to hone its model lineup for the local market, and now it’s been confirmed JAC is also using the proving grounds for its next ute.
JAC Motors Australia today announced it completed local testing of the upcoming Hunter PHEV ute at Lang Lang, as the former Holden facility plays a part in its development program.
With the help of local engineering firm Segula Technologies Australia – the group responsible for the product design, development and validation of the Ford-approved F-150 right-hand-drive conversions – JAC says multiple facets of the Hunter PHEV were evaluated at Lang Lang.
“Lang Lang has been globally recognised as an automotive centre of excellence for many decades,” said JAC Motors Australia Technical Director, Hongjian Jiang.
“The extensive real-world testing we can replicate on its many arduous bitumen, dirt and offroad circuits all contributes to optimising JAC’s first plug-in hybrid ute for Australian conditions – and for Australian ute buyers.”
It’s worth noting that three PHEV utes are already on sale in Australia, the BYD Shark 6, the GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV, and the Ford Ranger PHEV. The latter is engineered and designed in Australia, while as previously mentioned GWM undertakes its own testing at Lang Lang.
Despite these Australian connections to the GWM and Ford, BYD’s Shark 6 is by far the most popular of the three PHEV utes, having only launched in 2025 but already recording enough sales to be the best-selling PHEV of all time locally.
While JAC is keen to cover the Hunter PHEV in camouflage, the ute was detailed extensively last year by Car News China, which last year published photos and details of the ‘Australian Edition’ T9 PHEV, revealed in right-hand drive form at the Greater Bay Auto Show.
JAC has previously claimed the T9 PHEV will be powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, which is mated to a pair of electric motors – a 130kW unit on the front axle, and 150kW at the back.
Quoting total outputs of 350kW and 1000Nm, the T9 PHEV will be significantly more potent than its rivals, while a 31.2kWh battery is claimed to provide 100km of electric-only driving range.
That’s more than double the Ranger PHEV’s 49km claim, and identical to the Shark 6, however the Cannon Alpha PHEV is still the on-paper king with a 115km figure.
A payload capacity of 715kg has been reported – more than the Cannon Alpha (685kg) but less than the Shark 6 (790kg) and Ranger (808-973kg).
The Hunter PHEV will be an important model for JAC, which to date has only had the turbo-diesel T9 in its local lineup, and it hasn’t covered itself in glory.
In 2025, a total of 1582 JAC T9s were delivered, making it the second slowest-selling 4×4 ute which was on sale for the whole year, ahead of only the Jeep Gladiator. By comparison, BYD sold 1675 Shark 6s in December alone.
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