The double-cab pick-up market is heading for a shake-up as new Chinese entrants seek to capitalise on tougher emission standards with electrified versions.

The UK market for pick-up trucks has been surprisingly resilient this year, with sales up 10% in the first six months to 20,902 despite an overall slump in light commercial vehicle sales.

Demand was led by the Ford Ranger, which was the UK’s third best-selling LCV overall, according to figures from automotive lobby group the SMMT. The Toyota Hilux was the next best-selling pick-up in seventh place overall.

Some of that increase was driven by buyers wanting to jump ahead of changes in company car tax rules from April that recategorised double-cab pick-ups as private cars to better reflect their role as an SUV substitute for some buyers.

That change would increase company car tax by as much as three times, and the 13% sales drop in May suggested the change had seriously dented the market. By June, however, demand was almost back on course, with sales only down 0.8% according to the SMMT.

Outwardly, then, the market looks normal, with Ford, Toyota and, further back, Volkswagen and Isuzu picking up customers of the now discontinued Mitsubishi L200 and Nissan Navara.

But the ZEV mandate for LCVs, which stipulates that 16% of sales this year and 24% in 2026 should be electric, is forcing a rethink of drivetrains and allowing the Chinese, with superior electric knowhow, a sniff of a market that has for years has been owned by Ford and the Japanese.

Sales of electric or plug-in hybrid pick-ups have been slow across Europe, with just 478 registered in the first four months according to figures from market research firm JATO. Of those sales, however, 61% were Chinese.

In the UK the only contender so far is the electric Maxus e-Terron from MG-owner SAIC. The twin-motor pick-up costs from £53,000 excluding vat and has a claimed 250-mile range from its 102kWh battery. 

As with most Chinese electric entrants, the e-Terron is well equipped and includes the ability to power electric tools on site. But crucially it lacks the all-important one-tonne payload required for businesses to be able to reclaim the VAT after purchase.

Others are coming. Great Wall Motor (GWM) has hinted that it is preparing its Cannon pick-up for a UK launch. The initial offering would be a budget diesel model, but the company showed off the Cannon Alpha plug-in hybrid earlier this year.

In continental European markets, experienced Chinese commercial player Foton sells two pick-ups, including the Tunland mild-hybrid diesel.

Bigger pick-up markets are already feeling the effect of the influx of Chinese players. In June, for example, the BYD Shark plug-in hybrid pick-up jumped to fifth place in Australia's sales charts, behind the Ranger, Hilux and Isuzu D-Max but moving ahead of the Mitsubishi Triton (L200).

At the Shanghai motor show in April, pick-ups featured heavily as makers previewed the next wave of attack. “The global pick-up market is now entering a golden era of growth,” Chery declared as it launched its new Himla pick-up brand. It quoted IHS data showing that global pick-up sales hit 5.67 million units in 2024 and are expected to surpass 6.3 million units by 2030.

Other pick-ups included the Geely Radar hybrid and the JAC T9 Hunter plug-in hybrid, the latter with its dual electric motors, 524hp and 62-mile electric range.

Established players know they have to respond. Ford CEO Jim Farley referenced the Chinese push for growth in emerging markets where the brand has already built significant share with the Ranger. “We have to think about future-proofing that Ranger business,” Farley said in February. He didn’t reveal more except, to say it has to be "a very capital-efficient approach”. That suggests an expansion of its Chinese joint venture partnerships, potentially with commercial vehicle specialist JMC.

Nissan is already leveraging connections with its Chinese partnerships. At the Shanghai show the Japanese company launched the new Frontier Sport pick-up, which has been developed with Dongfeng under the Zhengzhou Nissan brand. 

That vehicle is set to be produced in Spain after the joint venture inked a deal with Santana Motors, the revived former Land Rover partner, to build diesel and plug-in hybrid versions.

The Frontier Sport, which is likely to be assembled in kit form, would mark the return of Nissan pick-up production to the country after the company halted production of the Navara at its Barcelona plant in 2021.

Nissan Barcelona also made the Renault Alaskan, but after continuing production at its Argentina plant, Renault is now out of the one-tonne pick-up business. “This is a very specific market,” Bruno Vanel, head of product at Renault said at the launch of the new Boreal SUV for emerging markets. “There are some very, very strong players, with very competitive production bases in Thailand.” Renault has switched its pick-up focus to the smaller half-tonne market in South America, where it can use car platforms rather than continue development of a ladder-frame chassis.

Mitsubishi is one of those with a Thailand pick-up factory, but despite growing its operations in Europe with a possible plan to return to the UK, the Japanese brand is unlikely to bring back the L200. “We are quite good in those kind of vehicles, but the difficulty with pick-ups in Europe is the powertrain,” Frank Krol, head of Mitsubishi Europe, told Autocar. Regulations require an electrified powertrain, something none of Mitsubishi’s other markets is currently demanding. “You can't build a powertrain for that kind of volume only for Europe,” Krol said.

That hasn’t stopped others. Ford, for example, has developed a 2.3-litre plug-in hybrid powertrain for the Ranger and the VW Amarok, which Ford also builds. Meanwhile, Isuzu has just launched an electric version of its D-Max. 

However the D-Max EV will have a very restricted audience, with a 163-mile range from its 67kWh battery, charging speeds of just 50kW and a price of £60,995 (excluding VAT) for the double-cab, compared with £36,755 for the diesel. It can also carry a one-tonne payload, the magic figure that continues unlock tax benefits in the UK.