Newly relaunched Vigus Pro will come from JMC's product base, while the off-road focused Dadao will become its flagship in the final quarter of the year.
Its South African operations officially re-launched last week, and Chinese commercial vehicle manufacturer, Jiangling Motors Corporation (JMC), has announced its plans for the remainder of 2026, comprising a roll-out of three more products in each of the remaining quarters.
New Vigus
Imported by Salvador Caetano Auto South Africa, who also handles the importation and distribution of GAC’s products, the brand’s initial roll-out after the Vigus Pro will, somewhat confusingly, be followed by the step-up “new” Vigus.
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Known as the Boarding in China, which had previously been sold in South Africa, the all-new third-generation Vigus will arrive sometime in the first quarter, having gone on sale in China last year.
Shown in pre-production form at the launch of the Vigus Pro, the new Vigus incorporates styling from the Chevrolet Silverado, GWM P300 and Ford Ranger, and is offered solely as a double cab.
Power
According to official JMC documents, the Vigus has a choice of two loadbox lengths, a claimed ground clearance of 225 mm, and two engine options: a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol pumping out 160kW/350Nm and a 2.5-litre turbodiesel.
Transmissions consist of a six-speed manual or an eight-speed automatic, which, in the case of the diesel, means varying torque outputs: 123kW/410Nm for the former and 123kW/430Nm for the latter.
As with the Vigus Pro, known as the Yuhu 9 in China, the Vigus comes standard with rear-wheel drive or an optional BorgWarner four-wheel drive system with low range and an Eaton locking rear differential.
Spec
Despite no further details being released, notable specifications in China include a 12.8-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, up to 17-inch alloy wheels, rain-sensing wipers, cruise control, four airbags, tyre pressure, a reverse camera, rear parking sensors and side-steps to name a few.
Grand Avenue
Arriving in the second quarter, the step-up Grand Avenue offers two derivatives, standard and Plus, with the latter most likely to be the variant sold locally.
On sale in China since 2023, the Grand Avenue has dimensions of 5 435mm in overall length, a wheelbase of 3 270mm, height of 1 872mm and width of 1 935mm.
Marketed under the Dadao sub-brand, the Grand Avenue is said to have 235 mm of ground clearance, an approach angle of 30°, a departure angle of 26° and a wading depth of 800 mm.
Ford power
Up front, and leveraging off of its partnership with Ford, the Grand Avenue has two engine options: the 2.3-litre EcoBoost petrol producing 180kW/400Nm and a unique 2.3-litre version of the older Puma turbodiesel outputting 130kW/450Nm.
Both are connected to the ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic gearbox, with the part-time BorgWarner four-wheel-drive system standard across all derivatives.
Spec sheet
Expect specification to consist of the following:
- Auto High Beam Assist LED headlights;
- 17 or 18-inch alloy wheels;
- folding electric mirrors;
- rain sense wipers;
- sunroof;
- 12-inch rotating infotainment system;
- dual-zone climate control;
- six-speaker sound system;
- 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster;
- electric, heated and ventilated front seats;
- leather upholstery;
- wireless smartphone charger
On the safety side, the Grand Avenue will likely have the following as standard:
- 540-degree camera system
- Front and rear parking sensors
- Tyre pressure monitor
- Adaptive Cruise Control
- Automatic Emergency Braking
- Traffic Jam Assist
- Lane Keep Assist
- Forward Collision Warning
- Lane Departure Warning
- Hill Launch Assist
- Blind Spot Monitoring
- Lane Centring Assist
- Hill Descent Control
- Rollover Mitigation
Off-road ready Dadao
Launching in the final quarter of the year, the Dadao name will, seemingly, become the denominator for what is otherwise known as the Grand Avenue Pro.
Essentially, JMC’s take on the Ford Ranger Raptor, the Pro has been re-engineered with some of the same off-road attributes as the former.
This amounts to upgraded front and rear suspensions, a Watt’s rear linkage, adaptive nitrogen shock absorbers, a ground clearance increase hike to 255mm and a coil spring rear suspension layout.
Elsewhere, the Pro/Dadao features a different grille with a block letter name script, a new front bumper with an under protection plate, 17-inch black alloy wheels wrapped in all-terrain tyres, wheel arch cladding, an optional winch, standard snorkel and side-steps.
Compared to the regular Grand Avenue, the Pro has a wading depth of 900 mm, Crawl function and an optional locking differential at the front to go with the already included locker at the rear.
As an added part of the four-wheel drive hardware, a Ford-style Trail Turn Assist system has been included, as have wading sensors, the 540-degree transparent camera system, an overhead auxiliary switch panel and an Intelligent All-Terrain Management system with seven modes: Eco, Normal, Sport, Snow, Sand, Mud and Rock.
Up front, the Pro/Dadao retains the same engine and transmission combinations as the normal Grand Avenue, but with a power and torque increase for the EcoBoost to 190kW/450Nm.
Specification is likely to be similar to the regular model.
More later
As it stands, expect final details and pricing to be announced later in the year.
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