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JAC T9 now likely for 2023 premiere as brand rules out 2022
Chinese firm's flagship bakkie was meant to premiere last year, but delayed for unknown reasons.
The step-up model from the T8 was due to debut in South Africa last year.
Originally supposed to have premiered on local soil last year, JAC has announced that its sharply styled T9 bakkie will not debuting in 2022 as believed until now.
Shown at the Beijing Auto Show two years ago, the T9, known as the JAC Shuailing T9 in China, serves as JAC’s flagship bakkie with motivation coming from a choice of two turbodiesel engines: a 2.0-litre that produces 110 kW and a 2.5 rated at 140 kW.
In a short reply to The Citizen, the brand remained mum on the reasons for the delay, merely stating that, “the T9 won’t be launched this year. We are still awaiting new dates. We will announce specs and prices closer to the launch date”.
Based on JAC’s JL32 platform, the T9 can be specified with two or four-wheel-drive, but while available in China with a six-speed manual gearbox, only an eight-speed automatic will be offered in South Africa-bound models.
ALSO READ: Aggressively styled JAC T9 bakkie confirmed for South Africa
“The South African market is an important right-hand drive market for the company, which is evident in the latest technology products being available to the local market,” JAC Motors South Africa CEO, Karl-Heinz Göbel, said in a statement following the T9’s confirmation last year.
Positioned above the T8 that received a bump in power towards the end of last year, the T9 is expect to aim directly at the GWM P-Series and to a lesser extent, the Mahindra Scorpio Pik-Up instead of the flagship models the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max.
Should approval be given for next year, expect pricing, at the time of writing, to start around the R500 000 or R520 000 mark based on the T8 topping out at R489 900.
More details are likely to emerge towards the end of year and heading into 2023.
