Chery’s Himla Brand Shows Toyota Hilux Rival, More Pickups To Follow
Himla will offer a full range of pickups covering the compact, midsize, and large segments
- Chery further expands its portfolio with the new Himla brand which is focused on pickups.
- The first Himla product is a rugged midsize truck, likely riding on a ladder-frame chassis.
- The company plans to offer a range of products to global markets like Europe and Latin America.
Chinese automaker Chery has countless of sub-brands, but that didn’t stop them from creating another one dedicated to pickups. The Himla brand was inaugurated at the Shanghai Auto Show, alongside it’s first model, a midsize pickup set to rival the Toyota Hilux.
The truck shown in Shanghai looks just like the KP11 prototype that made its first appearance in October 2024, albeit with a different color, wheel design, and fewer accessories. It sports Chery branding on the grille, with the Himla emblem – likely inspired by Himalayas mountain range – being reserved for the tailgate.
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The first Himla features split LED headlights, aluminum-style skid plates, a tall hood, muscular fenders, and integrated side steps on the rear bumper. The truck rides on rugged alloy wheels shod in all-terrain rubber, and appears to have a healthy amount of ground clearance. Judging from the spec, this could be a high-spec trim, similar to the Ford Ranger Wildtrak.
Inside, there is a Tesla-like infotainment touchscreen in the middle of the dashboard, a neatly integrated digital instrument cluster, and lots of light-colored upholstery that looks like leather. Rear passengers have access to their own climate vents. The bed appears to be similar in size to mainstream midsize pickups such as the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, VW Amarok, Mitsubishi Triton, Kia Tasman, Nissan Navara, Isuzu D-Max, Mazda BT-50, etc.
The company didn’t share the specifications of the Himla which looks production ready. Chances are that the truck rides on a ladder-frame chassis, which would allow it to match the payload and towing capacity of its rivals. Under the hood, we expect to find gasoline, diesel, and electrified powertrains, in line with the current trends in the pickup segment.
Himla trucks will be exported to global markets such as Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. As reported by CarExpert, the new brand promised to offer “a full lineup spanning from compact to mid-size and large pickups”. Chery says that Himla products will combine “unstoppable all-terrain strength and refined design”.
Interestingly, Chery has recently announced the return of the Rely brand which will also be focused on pickups with combustion, electric, PHEV, and range-extender powertrains. Himla and Rely will further expand Chery’s portfolio next to the likes of the Exeed, iCar, Jaecoo, Jetour, Karry, Kaiyi, Lepas, Luxeed, Omoda, and Soueast brands.
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