GM’s Tiny Electric Pickup Is an Open-Top Truck Meant for China
It costs barely a third as much as a Jeep Wrangler.
Given how expensive new cars are nowadays, cheap EVs sold in China are starting to look more and more appealing. But if the weird, GM-built Baojun Yep EV with its giant smartwatch for a tailgate doesn't strike your fancy, you might feel differently about the open-top pickup version it just revealed.
These images of the Yep pickup (which I think they should call the Yup) were posted by Baojun to Chinese social media outlet Weibo, inviting followers to "come claim it!" The truck is pretty self-explanatory, with the Yep's two-door SUV body style converted to a pickup with a small bed on the back. It's like if a kei truck were mixed with a GMC Hummer EV, but with a Jeep Wrangler-style open roof.
Performance and capability of the Yep pickup likely mirrors that of the SUV, which was outlined on Twitter by Tycho de Feijter. The approximately Suzuki Jimny-sized EV will reportedly be powered by a 28.1-kilowatt-hour battery pack of safer, longer-lasting LFP chemistry, which can propel it an estimated 188 miles. It makes just 68 horsepower and 103 pound-feet of torque, and while drive wheels aren't specified it's hard to imagine this thing not having four-wheel drive. That said, its low expected price of around $13,200 leaves uncertain just how many off-road gizmos will be available. The similarly sized Mitsubishi Delica Mini, for example, lacks some of the tricks found in larger off-roaders.
Sadly, it's unclear whether this little truck is any more than a concept, as a translation of the original post doesn't promise it'll be built. Regardless, it's a truck that clearly has a place in the U.S. with growing interest in kei trucks in rural areas. Fortunately, GM seems to be aware of this unfilled niche, as it's rumored to be fast-tracking a small electric pickup. Considering how much more feature-complete that truck could be, it'll probably be a bigger hit with Americans anyway.
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