It’s always fun scouring websites for scoops regarding new and upcoming cars. There are many that online auto sleuths can find, especially if you have the time and patience.

And it seems our colleagues over in South Africa from Cars.co.za have unearthed something interesting from a major Chinese manufacturer regarding a new SUV and pick-up pairing.

It appears that Chery Auto is working on a single platform (likely a unibody/monocoque) that can be built as a 5-door crossover or as a double-cab with a short cargo bed. And yes, these are line drawings showing what the vehicles would look like. 

The schematic-like drawings were submitted in late 2025 by Chery to various government patent offices in China, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, New Zealand, and ours in the Philippines for IP purposes. We took the liberty of using two popular AI services (ChatGPT and Gemini) to render what these vehicles (particularly the pick-up version) would look like. 

As you can see, it’s a small crossover SUV that can also be built as a mini truck; that’s the beauty of having a platform that can be common across a certain model range. The vehicle takes a lot of liberties with angles, edges, and all kinds of roof bars and sports bars. What’s interesting is that Chery is trying to design it as a fun and sporty vehicle by moving the rear door handles to the C-pillars for a three-door look. 

What we are really interested in is the mini-truck version. It has been a while since we’ve seen something like this in something so small since the Nissan AdResort. Of course, the difference here is that the Chery is going to be a double cab instead of a single cab for 2 people.

As for powertrains, it could be anything. Chery does have a wide variety of powertrain options in their portfolio, and it’s likely they’re exploring various options to suit different markets. The likely first option will probably be a front-wheel drive 1.5L; this would do well in emerging markets looking for a cheap first vehicle.

They are also probably exploring a 1.5L HEV with a small LFP battery given fuel prices now. For countries where there are favorable benefits for BEVs, it’s conceivable that Chery could opt for that variant there. There are literally many options that are possible, including some kind of all-wheel drive using dual motors. 

This is not the first time we have learned that Chery was interested in a pick-up and SUV (or PPV) combination; a very popular type of rugged vehicle in many countries. Think Montero Sport/Triton and Fortuner/Hilux and you’ll understand why they’re interested. Chery even showed us the T1TP (aka Tiggo V) at the Beijing show just two months ago, but that one actually converts from a 2-box SUV to a pick-up format by removing the rear cab behind the doors. 

If Chery seriously pushes through with this, our market would definitely be interested because it could be a successor to the Tiggo 2. Still, we want the truck. We can even put a soft-top over the bed as if it were a revival of the J-top models from decades past, like the Pajero and Vitara. That would be cool indeed.