Chery Stockman detailed Down Under as preview of South Africa’s Grootman

Internally named KP31 will be called Grootman in South Africa. Picture: Chery South Africa

Its name for South Africa revealed as Grootman last month, Chery has divulged more details of what the local market could expect by confirming additional information via its Australian division where the newcomer will be sold as the Stockman.

Now available for pre-ordering Down Under, with sales and delivers only starting in February, the Stockman has already been listed on Chery Australia’s website, albeit without any pricing being confirmed.

While select details have been revealed, along with those of the Grootman, a new report has provided clarity of not only the plug-in hybrid powertrain, but also specification items.

Based on the findings of carexpert.com.au, the Stockman, and for that matter the Grootman, has the following dimensions:

Said to have 247 mm of ground clearance, the Grootman will employ a conventional four-wheel drive system with a low range transfer case, but with front, centre and rear locking differentials, a first for any bakkie sold in South Africa.

The publication further reports that the four-wheel drive system will have the traditional 2H, 4H and 4L modes, but also a 4A similar to the Ford Ranger and its Volkswagen Amarok twin.

Despite long believed reports from the Stockman having a tow rating of 3 500 kg, the report states it will miss the mark by five kilograms and therefore only have the ability to tow 3 495 kg.

It, however, remains to be seen whether this will be applicable to the Grootman as Chery South Africa‘s official wording maintains a 3 500 kg capacity.

Underneath, the Grootman will employ a double wishbone suspension layout at the front. However, the diesel will have leaf springs at the rear and the incoming petrol, at least in Stockman form, coil springs.

Going further, the Australian-spec Grootman will have a payload of 765 kg, a Crawl Control function and a Ranger-style Turn Trail Assist system known as Tight Turn Assist.

As standard, the 17-inch alloy wheels will be wrapped in all-terrain tyres, while the drive mode selector will have six settings: Eco, Normal, Sport, Snow, Mud and Sand/Rock.

Arriving first, the mentioned plug-in hybrid powertrain will consist of a 2.5-litre turbodiesel engine producing 140kW/450Nm on its own, combined with a 34-kWh battery pack powering a single electric motor.

The result is a combined 350kW/800Nm, which will go to all four wheels through a Dedicated Hybrid Transmission (DHT), the first time a diesel engine will be paired to a gearbox of this kind.

Arriving later, the conventional plug-in hybrid petrol, according to the publication, will develop 395kW/1 000Nm, though little else about this setup is still known.

While said to offer a claimed all-electric range of 100 km, the newly released WLTP rating in Australia, which South Africa also adheres to, mentioned an EV-only distance of 96 km.

DC charging support is up 70 kW, though a 6.6 kW AC on-board charger will be supplied as standard.

On the specification front, only a single double cab variant with four-wheel drive will be offered in Stockman guise.

Named items, according to Chery Australia’s website, include:

Notable safety and driver assistance system named include:

Officially arriving in South Africa in the first quarter of next year, either around or after Stockman sales Down Under, only expect Chery South Africa to announce full details, and pricing, of the Grootman then.

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