Details sketchy around the T1TP that converts from seven-seater to a double cab.
In a surprise reveal, Chery used its International User Summit in its hometown of Wuhu at the weekend to unveil a pre-production concept seven-seat “bakkie” devised as a true multi-purpose vehicle.
This comes after another surprise announcement that the first Cherry bakkie, the Himla or internally named KP11, will come to South Africa after all.
Known for now simply as the T1TP, the concept appears to be based on the Tiggo 9 CSH given its seven-seat layout.
ALSO READ: First Chery bakkie heads for South Africa after surprise U-turn
Converts to double cab
The Chery T1TP’s conversion process involves a split tailgate design similar to a Range Rover and BMW X5, which makes for a conventional seven-seat SUV configuration. Not detailed or shown, the switch to double cab, seemingly, involves the same mid-gate design as the erstwhile Chevrolet Avalanche in United States, and more recently, the Deepal/Changan E05. It would, therefore, result in a partition sliding up from behind the third row as a means of separating the cabin from the boot area, which then becomes the loadbin.
As the top section of the tailgate is fixed to the roof, speculation is that the roof is either a manually removable one-piece similar to the Jeep Wrangler, or that the section covering the loadbin/boot slides into a recess within the roof’s structure once the mid-gate is selected.
Just as unknown is the Chery T1TP’s powertrain, though the concept did sport the same Chery Super Hybrid or CSH badge as the Tiggo 9. This would mean the same choice of powertrains; the 1.5 T-GDI combined with an 18.3-kWh battery pack and single electric motor for a total of 280kW/610Nm. Or the same engine mated to a 34.4-kWh battery powering three motors for a combined 455kW/910Nm.
SA to get two Chery bakkies
Chery did, however, state that the final product will be ready in around six to seven months’ time, meaning a date of reveal around April which falls in-line with next year’s Shanghai showpiece.
It is not clear if the T1TP is coming to South Africa. Chery International President, Zhang Guibing, dod however hint in April that two bakkies will come to market in 2026.
*Charl Bosch is in China as a guest of Chery South Africa
