China’s 1,572-HP Pickup Wants to Humiliate the Ford F-150 and RAM 1500The American full-size pickup is one of the most entrenched products in the automotive industry. The Ford F-150 has been the best-selling vehicle in the United States for over four decades. The RAM 1500 keeps chipping away at its margin. Nobody really threatens either of them. Then along comes Jetour with a plug-in hybrid the size of a city block.The Jetour Zongheng F700 is an upcoming plug-in hybrid full-size pickup truck being produced by Chery under the Jetour brand.It isn’t subtle about its ambitions.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe F700 is essentially the G700 SUV in pickup form, sharing the same platform as that ladder-frame SUV – and the G700 is already a truck that does things like cross rivers under its own power. The F700 strips off the rear body and adds a bed, and picks up a significant length gain in the process: with the addition of a bed at the rear, the F700 stretches to 5,495 mm in length compared to the G700’s 5.1 meters, riding on a 3,350 mm wheelbase.For context, a RAM 1500 crew cab runs around 5,500 mm. These are the same ballpark, intentionally.The Powertrain Numbers Are Where Things Get StrangeThe F700 will share Chery’s CDM-O plug-in hybrid powertrain with the G700, built around a 2.0-litre turbocharged inline-four producing around 208 horsepower.That engine figure sounds modest until you factor in what’s attached to it. The exact number of motors is still disputed – sources like CarExpert point to a dual-motor layout, while multiple Chinese outlets claim a quad-motor setup.AdvertisementAdvertisementDespite this, the combined power figure sits at 1,654 hp, though that hasn’t been independently confirmed by Chery. What has been confirmed on the related G700 is more grounded but still remarkable: Chery’s CDM-O system on the G700 – a 2.0TD engine with dual electric motors mated to a two-speed DHT – delivers a combined 892 hp, 1,135 Nm of torque, and a 0–100 km/h time of 4.6 seconds.The G700’s 31.4 kWh CATL Shenxing battery provides 150 km of pure electric range, with a combined range of 1,400 km on a full tank and full charge.Under fast charging, the battery recharges from 20 to 80 percent in 10 minutes.The F700 is expected to carry over the same basics. A combined range of 870 miles on a single fill-up, with a 10-minute pit stop to top up the battery, is a number that would embarrass most gasoline trucks on sale in the US today – let alone electrified ones.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe interior follows the G700’s template closely. Inside the cabin there’s a 35.4-inch 3K telescopic display behind the dashboard and a 15.6-inch central control screen. Lexicon speakers and vehicle satellite communication are optional.Off-road credentials are equally serious: a transparent chassis view system displays the terrain beneath the vehicle via 360° cameras, and driving modes include Tank Turn, crawl mode, and low-speed 4WD for precision off-road work.The Issue for American BuyersThe F700’s official launch is expected in 2026, but that’s for China.It’s currently unclear whether Jetour plans to launch the F700 in export markets just yet, and the spied prototype was left-hand drive with no confirmation that right-hand drive will be built.AdvertisementAdvertisementFor American buyers, US tariffs on Chinese-made vehicles – currently running at eye-watering levels – would need to be factored into any pricing equation before this thing could realistically land at a dealership.None of that means the F700 is irrelevant to the F-150 and RAM 1500 conversation. Chinese automakers have consistently used global markets as staging grounds before pushing into North America, and the hardware being developed here is genuinely competitive on paper. The specs are real, the platform has already launched in the G700 SUV, and Jetour describes the F700 as a “soon-to-launch high-end hybrid pickup” as part of its global product strategy.Ford and RAM have decades of brand loyalty and a home-field advantage that no import can easily overcome. But the engineering gap that once made American trucks untouchable is getting harder to point to.
+45 others
