In 2008, the issue of "lifting the ban on pickup trucks" was officially discussed at the National Congress and the National Congress. Pickup trucks, a market segment that has long appeared in the country but has always been limited in size, gradually gained the meaning of spring breeze. Especially in recent years, the domestic pickup truck market has become more and more lively. Not only are there more and more pickup trucks on the market, the pickup truck market is also growing.

　　What is a pickup truck?

　　Let's first figure out a concept, what kind of car is a pickup?

　　On a global scale, the most mature place of pickup culture is undoubtedly North America. In fact, the first pickup truck on the planet was built by the American car company Ford. Counting from the first Ford pickup in 1925, the United States has 96 years of pickup history. After nearly a hundred years of development, the pickup truck market in the United States has formed a set of relatively clear standards, especially for passenger pickup trucks and commercial pickup trucks. For example, the half-ton Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Solode 1500 are passenger vehicles, while vehicles such as the Ford F-250 and Chevrolet Solode 2500/3500 are classified as heavy-duty commercial pickups.

　　Ford F150 series, image source: Ford Motor

　　In the domestic market, although pickup trucks can be regarded as one of the earliest market segments, in fact, until now, we have not officially issued the definition standards for pickup trucks (currently domestic pickup trucks are managed in accordance with the N1 category trucks, and the N category It refers to a motor vehicle with at least 4 wheels and is used to carry cargo. The N1 category refers to a cargo vehicle with a maximum design total mass of not more than 3500kg.) So strictly speaking, there are only two types of heavy trucks and light trucks in the domestic truck market. The more subdivided categories such as card, micro card, and pickup are actually conventional names, and there is no clear standardized classification.

　　With the implementation of the pickup truck ban policy and the gradual formation of the domestic pickup truck market in recent years, the formulation of related standards has finally been put on the agenda. It is regarded as China’s first pickup truck standard "General Technical Requirements for Multi-Purpose Trucks" (hereinafter referred to as "Technology"). Standards”), in November 2020, the solicitation of comments has ended and entered the approval stage, and the next step is to officially release. According to regulations, the proposed implementation date of the "Technical Standards" is 6 months after its issuance.

　　The "Technical Standards" has detailed standardization regulations for Chinese pickup trucks. The most important thing is to weaken the commercial properties of pickup trucks and increase the passenger properties.

　　The "Technical Standards" adjusts the management classification of pickup trucks from N1 to close to the M1 standard (Class M vehicles refer to motor vehicles with at least 4 wheels and are used to carry passengers. Class M1 vehicles include the driver’s seat and the number of seats does not exceed A 9-seater passenger car.) The "Technical Standards" stipulates the size and load limit of the pickup box. The top length of the box should not exceed 35% of the length of the vehicle and not more than 1850mm, and the rated load should not exceed 500kg. The specifications of the seats are also limited, the seat pitch is not less than 650mm, and the cushion depth is not less than 400mm, so as to better ensure the comfort and safety of the drivers and passengers. Obviously, it is guiding the pickup truck to the main purpose of domestic manning.

　　The rapidly growing pickup market

　　Although the relevant industry standards have not been officially released and implemented, it is undeniable that in recent years, the domestic pickup truck market has grown rapidly, and the trend of shifting from focusing on cargo properties to high-end passengerization is becoming more and more obvious.

　　Sales data released by the Travel Association show that despite the impact of the epidemic, the domestic pickup truck market still delivered a 9% year-on-year increase in 2020. In the first five months of 2021, the domestic pickup truck market continued to maintain a strong growth trend, with a total of 227,000 vehicles sold, an increase of 52% year-on-year, and a 20.1% increase compared to the cumulative sales of 189,000 vehicles from January to May 2019.

　　Picture source: Chenglianhui

　　In addition, the Federation also predicted that the domestic pickup truck market will continue to exert strength in the second half of this year. The Travel Federation stated that the recent steady recovery of the domestic economy has laid a solid foundation for the continued recovery of the autumn market. The new industries, new business formats and new models spawned during the epidemic will provide strong support for the economic recovery. The pickup truck market benefits from The trend of vehicle models for passenger use, the effect of market expansion will also be further manifested.

　　The main reason why the domestic pickup truck market segment can gradually release its potential is due to policy adjustments. As we all know, due to the influence of truck styling and safety considerations, national policies and urban management have imposed strict restrictions on pickup trucks for many years. As mentioned above, pickup trucks are managed in accordance with N1 trucks in China, so In most cities, pickup trucks cannot enter the city.

　　In 2008, "pickup lifting ban" (allowing pickup trucks to enter the urban area) was already a key discussion topic of the two sessions. In the six years after 2015, "pickup lifting ban" has become a hot topic in the automobile field of the two sessions in the country for 5 years. . More than 10 ministries and commissions, including the Ministry of Commerce, the Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, have also successively clarified the requirements for expanding the scope of restrictions on pickup trucks entering cities in a steady and orderly manner. Relevant statistics show that after the country's first pilot lifting of the ban on pickup trucks in 2016, nearly 90 cities have responded by the end of 2020, and the regional market share of unrestricted pickup trucks has increased from 20% to 40%.

　　The domestic pickup market bustling

　　Pickup truck restrictions were relaxed, and the first thing that was mobilized was the enthusiasm of auto companies to launch new cars. Relying on the Fengjun series of pickup trucks, Great Wall Motors has long been among the first camp in the domestic pickup market. Recently, it launched the gun series pickup truck model, and it quickly became the biggest beneficiary of the current pickup truck market policy dividend. According to the batch sales data released by the Passenger Association, the top three domestic pickup truck sales in May 2021 are Great Wall Motors, Zhengzhou Nissan and Jiangling Motors. Among them, the batch sales of Great Wall Motors exceeded 20,000, exceeding The sum of the second and third place sales. The Great Wall Cannon is the sales champion in the domestic pickup truck market. According to official data released by Great Wall Motors, the sales of Great Wall Cannon reached 10,045 in May.

　　An important reason for the popularity of the Great Wall Artillery is that this car distinguishes two versions for commercial use and passenger use, allowing the terminal market to see the possibility of self-owned brand pickup trucks becoming high-end passenger vehicles, with a sense of design and driving. The experience and off-road attributes have also been well displayed. It seems that suddenly, the Chinese market has really begun to have a pickup culture. After the Great Wall artillery fire, similar products began to appear on the domestic market one after another. The SAIC Maxus MAXUS T90, nicknamed SAIC Niu, was put on the market in April, and Wuling Zhengtu also appeared in the low-end passenger pickup market. 6 At the beginning of this month, the Great Wall Artillery series ushered in the second model-the Great Wall Artillery. Compared with the Great Wall Cannon, the Great Wall Artillery has stronger passenger car attributes.

　　Wuling Journey, image source: Wuling Motors

　　Great Wall Artillery, image source: Great Wall Motor

　　The Great Wall artillery based on the tank platform is positioned as a single-row off-road pickup, equipped with BorgWarner's time-sharing four-wheel drive system, and equipped with rear axle electronic differential lock, nitrogen off-road shock absorber, front winch, wading hose and other off-road Equipment, without a doubt, the Great Wall Artillery is not only more high-end but also more interesting than ordinary pickup trucks. Through the first batch of limited sales of 68 hunger marketing strategies, the market effect of this car has also been fully expanded. The Great Wall Artillery is currently a new car with very high expectations in the domestic passenger car market.

　　In addition to the above models that have been put on the market, the domestic pickup truck market will usher in a larger group of new cars in the future. It is reported that the Mitsubishi L200 will soon be imported, the Ford pickup may be made in China, the Great Wall has unveiled a full-size pickup, and the spy photos of the ZTE full-size pickup have also been exposed. In addition, Lynk & Co will launch a pickup truck based on the SEA vast platform, and BYD's pickup truck is also in planning.

　　It can be predicted that in the next few years, the domestic pickup truck market will surely achieve further breakthroughs, at least in the field of passenger pickup trucks. Subject to the continuous evolution of the domestic economic and social structure, it is almost certain that the traditional low-end commercial pickup truck market will be in a long-term downturn. However, in the passenger pickup market, the relevant industry standards have reached the eve of the landing, and the enthusiasm of automakers to push new cars It is also an unprecedented high. Even if there are still some stuck issues such as annual inspection policies and mandatory scrapping policies to be resolved, the domestic passenger pickup truck market, which has already shown the light, should be able to become more stable.

         This article is reproduced from Gasgoo Information