JAC Motors has fired another round in the great ute wars, and this time they’ve brought proper numbers and an NRL star to back it up.
The Chinese brand has officially confirmed fuel efficiency and range figures for the JAC Hunter PHEV, the dual-cab 4×4 ute it has been quietly flogging around Australian roads since last year under their rather admirably named “Project: No Shortcuts” program. And the numbers, I must say, are the kind that make a petrol-powered ute driver put down their flat white and start asking difficult questions.
How efficient is the JAC Hunter PHEV?
The official figures are 1.6 litres per 100 kilometres combined fuel consumption (NEDC), and a combined cruising range of 1,005 kilometres (also NEDC). Let that sink in for a bit. One thousand and five kilometres. A dual-cab 4×4 ute.
Now, before we all start planning road trips across the Nullarbor on a single tank, I will note, with my most professorial air, that NEDC figures are famously optimistic. They are, to put it bluntly, the automotive world’s equivalent of the estate agent who describes a broom cupboard as a “cosy home office.” Real-world figures will be lower. But even if you apply a hearty dose of scepticism to the claimed range, you are still looking at a ute that drinks remarkably little for something with serious four-wheel-drive ambitions and a tow bar.
Above: Lexus GX550 Review
#EUFTA #LuxuryCarTax #FCAI #FreeTradeAgreement #AustraliaTrade
Help Support Gay Car Boys Subscribe to our Youtube Channel by SMASHING THE BUTTON ABOVE
ABOVE: : Josh Addo-Carr and the 2026 JAC Hunter PHEV at Sydney Harbour
What is the JAC Hunter PHEV?
For those not yet acquainted, the Hunter PHEV is a plug-in hybrid dual-cab ute powered by a 1.6-litre engine mated to a PHEV system, available in 4×4 configuration. JAC Motors Australia has been running it through more than 50,000 kilometres of local testing on Australian roads, with vehicle dynamics development handled by Michael Barber of Multimatic, a firm that works with proper motorsport organisations, which rather suggests JAC is not simply winging it. Independent testing has also been conducted by SEGULA Technologies.
It is, in other words, more than a press release dressed up as an engineering program. They have done the work.
Managing Director Ahmed Mahmoud summed it up with the kind of confidence you either admire or find faintly exhausting, depending on your mood: “We’re launching the right ute at the right time, and it will be at the right price.”
He is not wrong about the timing. Australian buyers are increasingly interested in electrified options as fuel prices do their usual impressions of a person who has never heard of moderation. The ute segment, long the domain of diesel-guzzling workhorses, is being slowly and somewhat reluctantly dragged into the age of electrification. JAC intends to be there waiting when it arrives.
The Hunter PHEV competes in a segment that is only now beginning to take plug-in hybrid power seriously. With the BYD Shark 6 already on Australian roads and generating considerable attention, JAC will need to come in sharp on price and sharper still on capability if it wants to distinguish itself from the growing pack.
When does the JAC Hunter PHEV go on sale in Australia?
The Hunter PHEV is scheduled to arrive in Australian showrooms mid this year. Deposits will open soon, and JAC is inviting interested buyers to register at jacute.com.au/hunter. Pricing has not been confirmed, though Mahmoud’s repeated, almost rhythmic emphasis on being at “the right price” suggests JAC is not planning to make the same mistake as certain legacy brands who seem to believe plug-in hybrid technology entitles them to charge as though they have personally invented electricity.
More details are expected at the Melbourne Motor Show, running 10 to 12 April, where JAC will also unveil the rather spectacular custom build commissioned for their brand ambassador. Mark it in the diary.
Josh Addo-Carr and a very personalised Hunter
As part of the launch build-up, JAC invited NRL speedster Josh Addo-Carr, who recently broke into the league’s all-time top ten try scorers, to put his stamp on a custom Hunter PHEV. The result includes a bespoke paint finish by Smith Concepts in Brookvale, paint supplied by PPG, Lenso tyres, a lift kit, a hard lid, lighting upgrades, an e-bike setup, and a selection of JAC Genuine Accessories.
Addo-Carr, for his part, said all the right things: “It looks tough the second you see it. Being able to customise it and make it my own was pretty exciting. It’s the kind of thing any car lover dreams about.”
It is, I will admit, a clever piece of ambassador casting. Addo-Carr is enormously popular, visually distinctive, genuinely fast, and, crucially, the kind of person who appears to actually use a ute rather than simply owning one as a statement of outer-suburban masculinity. The custom Hunter will be on display at Melbourne — do go and have a look.
The bigger picture here is what JAC is building: a proper local story around a Chinese-engineered product, complete with Australian testing, a local-market ambassador, and a driveaway pricing strategy that has not yet been announced but is already being positioned as a welcome change from the norm. JAC has been at this for a while now, and the Hunter PHEV is shaping up as their most serious bid for mainstream Australian attention.
Whether the real-world numbers hold up to scrutiny is, of course, the question we will not be able to answer until someone hands me the keys and points me toward a highway. For the moment, 1,005 kilometres and 1.6 litres per 100 is a very good opening argument.
More Stories
- New JAC Hunter PHEV Completes Initial Local Testing
- Soaring Fuel Prices Drive EV Interest Across Australia
- Mazda BT-50 Thunder and Boss: Because Who Needs Electrification Anyway?
Help Support Gay Car Boys Subscribe to our Youtube Channel
Alan Zurvas is the founder and editor of Gay Car Boys, Australia's leading LGBTQI+ automotive publication. Before launching GCB in 2008, Alan's automotive writing was published in SameSame.com.au and the Star Observer. With over 16 years of hands-on car reviewing experience, Alan brings an honest, irreverent voice to every review — championing value and innovation over brand loyalty.
Leave a Reply