SYDNEY - Chinese automaker JAC Group will start selling its first Australia customized diesel-fueled T9 ute on the Australian market in April.

Ute is a term used in Australia to describe vehicles with a tonneau behind the passenger compartment.

Australia is a high-end strategic market in the global layout of JAC Group and utes are one of the largest vehicle segments in the country, said Zhang Peng, deputy general manager of JAC Group, when addressing the pre-launch event for the T9 ute held by JAC Group and its local sole distributor LTS Auto in Sydney on Wednesday.

"Therefore, we chose to introduce JAC Group's core business - utes - to the Australian market, and T9 as our first model," he said.

The pre-launched model, which is crafted specifically for Australia, is equipped with JAC 2.0L diesel power and ZF 8-speed automatic transmission, said Zhang. It is currently undergoing safety testing by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program in accordance with the latest and most stringent 5-star rating standards.

In response to Australia's National Electric Vehicle Strategy, JAC will also launch 4WD T9 electric vehicle (EV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) in the future so as to create differentiated, scenario-driven and competitive products with integrated solutions, Zhang introduced.

"Beyond utes, we are keeping a keen eye on opportunities in the Australian passenger car market and are actively preparing for them," he said.

Australia's overall auto sales scale exceeded 1.2 million units in 2023, showing a good growth trend after the pandemic, with cost-effective cars becoming more popular in the post-pandemic era, Zhang said.

Jiang Yi, chairman of LTS Auto, told Xinhua that according to the company's Australian market research and its survey on JAC utes among local car dealers, he is quite confident about selling 3,800 to 4,000 units of the pre-launched ute in 2024.

JAC Group is a comprehensive automotive enterprise group in China and is one of China's Top 500 Enterprises. As one of the earliest Chinese auto brands to lay out overseas markets, JAC has established six overseas subsidiaries and 19 overseas plants, and cumulatively exported to 132 countries and regions around the world.

JAC utes have already been introduced into more than 100 countries and regions around the world, with a total sales volume of more than 40,000 units in overseas markets in 2023, and a cumulative sales volume approaching 300,000 units globally.