Deepal Australia may soon introduce a true competitor to the Ford Ranger, although an official announcement has yet to be made. During the 2025 Melbourne Motor Show, Deepal Australia's General Manager, Cormac Cafolla, mentioned that the Chinese automotive brand is continually exploring new models that would appeal to the Australian market. Following the launch of the E07 SUV-ute crossover later this year, Deepal appears to be eyeing further expansion of its vehicle lineup.
One promising candidate for Australia's highly competitive one-tonne ute segment is the Hunter K50, a mid-size pickup that Cafolla suggested could be an ideal fit. Considering that utes make up roughly 20 per cent of all new vehicle sales in Australia, introducing a model like the Hunter could significantly boost Deepal’s presence. Internationally, the Hunter K50 has been unveiled as a range-extender electric vehicle (EREV), pairing a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine with two electric motors. This setup allows the ute to travel up to 131km solely on electric power. When the diesel engine is engaged, however, the total driving range extends dramatically to around 900km.
If Deepal does decide to bring the Hunter K50 to Australian shores, it could encounter some competition over its name, particularly from the newly revealed JAC T9 Hunter PHEV, which also made its debut at the Melbourne Motor Show. Regardless of any potential naming conflicts, the arrival of the Hunter K50 would mark a milestone: it would become Australia’s first range-extender electric ute. That said, it wouldn't be the first hybrid pickup in the local market. The GWM Cannon Alpha and BYD Shark 6 have already paved the way, introducing closed-loop hybrid and plug-in hybrid technologies to Australia's ute segment.
The competition in the hybrid ute market is set to intensify, as Ford plans to launch a plug-in hybrid version of its popular Ranger later this year. Mitsubishi and Nissan are also expected to introduce hybrid powertrains for the next iterations of the Triton and Navara, respectively.
Deepal, which entered the Australian market last year with its S07 large SUV, has an ambitious rollout planned. Following the S07, the brand will release the E07 SUV-ute crossover, as well as a smaller SUV model known as the S05. Despite these efforts, Deepal currently does not report its sales figures to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), so no official data on its market performance is available at this time.