Changan PH to offer diesel pickup truck soon?

Changan Auto Philippines has a comprehensive lineup that mainly consists of crossovers, with the exception of the Alsvin that’s their sole sedan offering in the market. But soon, the Chinese brand could have its own competitor in another competitive segment – pickup trucks.

IC Star Automotive, Inc., more commonly known as Inchcape Philippines, has received approval for a light duty vehicle (aka pickup truck) with a 1950cc diesel engine. We all know that Inchcape also carries Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram in the Philippines, but the aforementioned brands do not currently offer a diesel-powered pickup with that displacement.

Hence, the particular vehicle could be the Changan Hunter pickup truck. Also known as the Kaicene F70, the Changan Hunter has previously been spotted on Philippine roads by other media outlets. While it’s being offered in other markets with a hybrid system that works in similar fashion as Nissan’s e-Power, the approval only covers the 1.9-liter turbodiesel variant so far.

Based on other markets, the Hunter’s diesel powerplant is shared with the Peugeot Landtrek, putting out 152 PS and 350 Nm of torque mated to a 6-speed manual transmission from Getrag.

In terms of size, the Hunter measures 5380mm long, 1930mm wide, 1885mm tall, and has a 3180mm wheelbase. There's also a longer version of the pickup that's 5630mm long with a 3430mm wheelbase but currently, only the standard length version was seen being tested here in the country.

Inside, the Hunter offers a modern cabin design with analog gauges and a touchscreen infotainment system for good measure. The EREV version even comes with Changan's signature dual-screen setup seen on the CS55, but we're not exactly sure if that's the dashboard we can expect with the PH-spec Hunter.

Depending on Changan PH’s product planning, the Hunter could compete with the likes of the GWM Cannon, the Dongfeng Rich 7 and the Foton Thunder / Tunland for the pickup segment.