The JAC Hunterrange will be expanded with a cab/chassis body style, due in Australian showrooms as soon as October 2026, further lowering the price of Australia’s cheapest plug-in hybrid (PHEV) ute.
While exact pricing and specifications haven’t yet been revealed, the Hunter PHEV pickup was announced as starting from “below $50,000” before on-road costs when order books opened earlier this week.
That undercuts BYD Shark 6, Ford Ranger and GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV rivals to make the Hunter the cheapest PHEV ute in Australian showrooms, yet the range is set to expand with an even cheaper version.
“I’m happy to report in a few months’ time we’ll have a cab/chassis [Hunter PHEV],” JAC Motors Australia managing director Ahmed Mahmoud told CarExpert.
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The Hunter cab/chassis body style will have a lower starting price when it arrives in Australia between October and December 2026, Mr Mahmoud confirmed.
It will use the same powertrain as the pickup, pairing a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine with a pair of electric motors producing 360kW of power and, based on overseas specifications, around 1000Nm of torque.
It will be only the second cab/chassis PHEV ute available in Australia after the recently introduced BYD Shark 6 Dynamic, which is priced at $55,900 before on-road costs.
Like the pickup, JAC will price the cab/chassis below its current showroom rivals as it targets predominantly fleet customers.
“It would have to be [cheaper than the pickup],” Mr Mahmoud told CarExpert. “But you have to put a tray on it, so that might bring it back to around the same price.”
The JAC boss confirmed the Hunter cab/chassis will be offered only in the Oasis equipment level, the lower of the two model grades – Oasis and X – the pickup body style is offered in.
JAC’s other ute, the diesel-powered T9, is already available in Oasis cab/chassis guise at $41,162 before on-road costs, excluding a rear tray, while the T9 Oasis pickup is priced $1500 higher.
This suggests a retail price of around $48,500 before on-road costs based on the Hunter pickup’s circa-$50,000 starting price, undercutting the BYD Shark 6 Dynamic cab/chassis priced at $55,900 before on-road costs, which also excludes a tray.
BYD offers a tray for the Shark 6 Dynamic cab/chassis priced at just over $6000.
“We would love to offer a factory tray – in fact, a lot of the bodies that you see on cars are made in China anyway – [but] it’s not that easy,” Mr Mahmoud said.
“It’s easy to get the factory to put one on our cars, but it does change things around [safety watchdog] ANCAP and ADR [Australian Design Rules] and all of those things as well.”
“Technically, you can do it, [and it] could probably be even cheaper, but we’re still working through the machinations of whether that’s feasible, getting it fitted in China, or whether we just do it here.
“We’ve made a commitment when we launched [the JAC T9] diesel [cab/chassis] that we would be working with as many local Australian suppliers as possible.
“Ultimately, we’ve got some great partnerships at the moment with bodybuilders here in Australia.”
MORE: Explore the JAC Hunter showroom
