Remember JMC? No, not JAC, which is not to be confused with GAC. This one was a ute brand, like ZX Auto… if you remember that one, either.
Regardless of whether you remember it or not, JMC appears to be on the cusp of returning to the Australian market, with government documents showing its Vigus ute has been granted local road vehicle type approval.
These approval documents list a single dual-cab ute variant, powered by a 3.3-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine producing 118kW. This displacement doesn’t align with any of the diesel engines offered by JMC in China, so it’s potentially a typo.
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No torque figure is listed in the documents, though the Vigus is recorded as having an eight-speed automatic transmission and an automatic all-wheel drive system, and the choice of 17- or 18-inch alloy wheels.
Just one variant is listed in the documents, and here are some of the key dimensions listed:
| JMC Vigus | |
|---|---|
| Length | 5335mm |
| Width | 1882mm |
| Height | 1892mm |
| Wheelbase | 3150mm |
| Running clearance | 210mm |
| Tare mass | 1910kg |
| Gross vehicle mass | 2780kg |
Unusually, the documents appear to detail not one of JMC’s new Dadao family of utes, launched in 2023, but rather a less sophisticated model known as the Vigus Plus or Yuhu, which slots somewhere between the budget Baodian and the more modern Dadao.
JMC, like many other brands in China, offers multiple generations of vehicles concurrently, with even older Vigus/Yuhu vehicles also available in its domestic market.
Launched in China this year, the particular ute is available there with a choice of two wheelbase lengths, as well as different tubs and cab configurations. The only engine is a 123kW/430Nm turbo-diesel 2.5-litre four-cylinder, and suspension is a double-wishbone arrangement up front and leaf springs at the rear.
Inside, there’s a 7.0-inch instrument cluster screen and a 12.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system.
Unusually for a vehicle that appears to be Australia-bound, there’s no active safety and driver assist technology like autonomous emergency braking on the spec sheet. Dadao/Grand Avenue utes, in contrast, can be had with a full suite of this tech.
It’s unclear if JMC’s Dadao utes will launch here, though examples have been spied testing here previously and Jiangling Motors filed to protect the Grand Avenue export name with IP Australia back in 2023.
Badged ‘Grand Avenue’ in certain export markets, there are different Dadao variants aimed at private buyers, fleet customers, and off-road enthusiasts, with JMC offering a similar breadth of offerings as GWM does with its Cannon/Poer range in China.
Indeed, of the nine utes listed on JMC’s Chinese-market website, five are members of the Dadao family; the others are the brand’s older Yuhu and Baodian utes.
There’s a choice of 190kW/450Nm turbocharged 2.3-litre four-cylinder petrol and 130kW/450Nm turbo 2.3-litre four-cylinder diesel engines, the latter referred to as the ‘Puma’ engine.
There’s even an electric variant with a 180kW/385Nm electric motor and an 88kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery offering 423km of NEDC range.
The Dadao ute family uses a platform co-developed with Ford, with which parent company Jiangling Motors has a close relationship.
Ford acquired an equity stake in the automaker in 1995, and it maintains two Chinese joint ventures: one with Jiangling Motors, and one with Changan.
The approval holder on the government documents is listed as Salygon Pty Ltd – a business which only has an ABN listing dating back a few days. It’s unclear, then, whether JMC’s return will be via factory-backed operation or a third-party distributor.
Last time around, JMC entered the Australian market as other budget ute brands like Great Wall and ZX Auto faded.
In 2015 the Vigus, known as the Yuhu in China, was launched locally. It came with a ubiquitous-in-China naturally aspirated 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine sourced from Mitsubishi outputting 100kW and 201Nm.
Optional was a 2.4-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder from Ford, delivering 90kW/290Nm.
Available in 4×2 models was a licensed version of Ford’s EcoBoost 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, producing 149kW/325Nm.
At least half a dozen dealerships signed on to sell JMC utes but the company withdrew from the Australian market in 2018 after slow sales due to poor name recognition and the lack of an automatic transmission. How many sales isn’t clear as the figures weren’t reported by VFACTS.