Another Chinese vehicle brand will be launched in Australia next October when ZX Auto begins selling its GrandTiger pickup truck in Western Australia state ahead of a national launch in 2013.
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Independent importer Chinese Automotive Distributors (CAD) told GoAutoNews that about 180 GrandTiger one-tonne trucks will be shipped to Perth in the last quarter of this year as a ‘toe-in-the-water’ exercise to establish sales and marketing plans ahead of the national launch.
GoAuto said the GrandTiger was a direct competitor for Great Wall’s V240/V200 truck range and would be sold in cab-chassis and dual-cab versions with a choice of two- or four-wheel drive.
The only engine available initially will be a Mitsubishi-sourced 93kW 2.4-litre petrol I4 – the same as used by Great Wall in its Australian V240 range – matched with a five-speed manual gearbox. A Toyota-based 2.5-litre turbo-diesel is due next year, when the whole range will go national through a dealership network that will also carry the Chinese-sourced Geely passenger car range that will be launched with the EC7 small car about the same time.
GoAuto noted that a fleet of 20 GrandTigers is already running around Western Australia as part of a product quality evaluation programme and to test modifications made by Melbourne-based Prodrive Engineering.
