Chery Stockman Hybrid Prototype Spotted Testing in Australia Ahead of 2026 Launch

Image credit: Mr. Lucas H. (Chery COO) via LinkedIn

The Chery ute is getting real. Chery's chief operating officer, Lucas H., has posted a photo of the first Chery Stockman Super Hybrid prototype parked on a dirt roadside in Australia, and it is the clearest sign yet that the brand's first dual-cab is moving from show stand to showroom. Chery has already told us Australia will be the Stockman's launch market before anywhere else in the world, so seeing a running car on local soil is a genuine milestone rather than a render.

The prototype in the photo is a chunky, boxy dual-cab wearing an all-terrain tyre and a blacked-out grille with CHERY spelled out across it. It looks the part. What sits underneath is the more interesting story, because the Stockman is not chasing the diesel establishment with another diesel. It is going after the new wave of plug-in hybrid utes led by the BYD Shark 6.

What Chery is claiming

The launch powertrain is a diesel plug-in hybrid that Chery badges Super Hybrid. Rather than the petrol PHEV setup in the Shark 6, Chery pairs a 2.5-litre turbo-diesel with electric drive, which is an unusual and interesting combination for a work-focused ute. Here is what the brand is quoting so far. Treat these as manufacturer claims, because the car is still a prototype and Australian figures will be locked in closer to launch.

Why it matters

If Chery gets even close to those numbers, the Stockman lands as one of the most powerful utes on sale in Australia while still keeping the two things tradies actually check first: a full 3,500kg braked tow rating and a payload near a tonne. The plug-in side means it can do the school run and the daily commute on electricity, then behave like a diesel when the tray is loaded and the trailer is on. That is exactly the pitch the BYD Shark 6 has ridden to strong early sales, and the Stockman looks set to give buyers a genuine second option in a segment that had none a year ago.

The obvious unknown is price. Chery has not said a word on it, but the brand has built its Australian reputation on undercutting, so anything that slides under the Shark 6 will get attention fast. It will also be cross-shopped against the diesel establishment, the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-Max, plus the other value hybrid challenger, the GWM Cannon Alpha.

For now, a prototype on an Australian back road is the update. We have the Stockman logged as coming soon in the CarSorted directory with the early specs above, and we will fill in pricing, confirmed Australian figures and an on-sale date the moment Chery makes them official.

The diesel plug-in question

Here is what makes the Stockman genuinely different. Almost every plug-in hybrid ute headed to Australia pairs a petrol engine with electric drive, the BYD Shark 6 and GWM Cannon Alpha included. Chery is going diesel plug-in. That is a deliberate call. Diesel makes torque low in the rev range and sips fuel on a long tow, which is exactly the job an Australian ute gets asked to do, and the electric side layers on instant response and a genuine EV commute in between. On paper it is the best-of-both pitch that towing buyers have been asking about for years.

The catch, and the reason we are keeping the caveats loud, is complexity and weight. A diesel engine plus a battery plus electric motors is a lot of hardware to carry, and heavy utes eat into payload fast. That is why the numbers below matter more than the power figure.

Can it really tow and carry at the same time?

A 3,500kg tow rating and a big power number look great on a spec sheet, but the figure that actually ends road trips is how much you can carry once the trailer is hooked up. Plug our claimed Stockman figures into the towing and payload calculator below, add your trailer, your passengers and your gear, and see what is left. When Chery confirms the kerb weight, GVM and GCM we will slot them straight in, and the maths will get sharper.

Prefer the full version? The same tool lives on our Towing & Payload Calculator, and you can line the Stockman up against every rival on the ute category page once its numbers are locked in.

Where it fits in Chery's Australian charge

The Stockman is not a one-off. Chery has gone from a standing start to one of Australia's fastest-growing brands in barely two years, stacking the small SUV space with the Tiggo range, the C5, the E5 and a wall of Super Hybrid options. A dual-cab ute is the last big-volume body style it did not have, and Australia buys utes like almost nowhere else on earth. Launching the Stockman here first, before its home market, tells you how seriously Chery is taking this segment. If the price lands where its other models have, the established diesel dual-cabs are about to get a value problem they have not had to answer before.