Heritage Day post suggests Chery has settled on KP31 bakkie’s name
· Citizen
Chery has provided the biggest hint yet of the winning name of its incoming KP31 plug-in hybrid diesel that will be sold in South Africa.
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Finalists…
Originally planned to announce the winning moniker based on a nationwide vote at the Kyalami Festival of Motoring last month, the brand opted to prolong the voting procedure until the month had wrapped up.
Reported to have received 20 000 suggestions since mid-August when the selection process opened, six monikers were ultimately chosen:
- Bakkie;
- Brahman;
- Chief;
- Grootman;
- Nduna;
- Orca.
“We could have introduced this bakkie with a name decided elsewhere, but we wanted to give South Africans a meaningful role in its story,” Chery South Africa National Marketing Manager, Verene Petersen, said in a statement at the time.
“South Africans are inventive, expressive and rarely short of an opinion, particularly when it comes to their cars. The winning entry will go beyond the competition itself. It will become part of Chery’s journey in this country.”
We have a winner?
While no further details were revealed, the most recent post on the brand’s Facebook page has ignited speculation that the winning name might be Brahman.
Posted on Thursday to celebrate Heritage Day, the image shows the KP31 against a farm backdrop with a father and son, along with a number of cattle, admittedly, not resembling the Brahman breed for obvious reasons.
Unsurprisingly, the post doesn’t say directly whether Brahman is the winning name. However, the cattle depiction, along with remarks in the comment sections, has suggested it is the moniker Chery has settled upon.
What to expect?
Confirmed to be called Stockman in Australia where a similar process of selecting a name took place, the KP31 is expected to have the following dimensions:
- Length: 5 450mm;
- Wheelbase: 3 250mm;
- Width: 2 010mm;
- Height: 1 890mm.
Also set to be similar is the claimed 247mm of ground clearance, tow rating of 3 500kg and payload of 1 000kg.
The almost-production ready KP31’s rear facia. Picture: Charl BoschOffered solely as a double cab, power will come from a 2.5-litre turbodiesel engine matched to a still unspecified electric motor and battery pack combination for a total system output of 350kW/800Nm.
Drive will go to all four wheels, though no details about the transmission is known, nor whether the four-wheel drive system will be a part-time or full-time setup.
Interior of the KP31 will relay heavily on physical switchgear but still have a series of modern features. Picture: CheryChery Australia’s website mentions an all-electric range of 100km, a Ford Ranger-style Turn Trail Assist system known as Tight Turn Assist, as well as the following:
- three locking differentials;
- Crawl Control;
- dual-zone climate control;
- wireless smartphone charging;
- heated and ventilated electric seats;
- “premium” sound system.
Announcement in due course
For the moment, Chery South Africa has not officially confirmed Brahman as the name for the KP31, despite the social media image suggesting otherwise. As such, expect an announcement soon.