Chery has announced a distinctively Australian name for its first ute in Australia, but it’s been seen before on another ute Down Under.
Unlike the Ford Ranger and BYD Shark 6-rivalling diesel plug-in hybrid (PHEV) dual-cab ute that Chery is launching this year, the Suzuki Stockman was a diminutive ute based on the simple Sierra off-roader.
The Stockman was available as far back as 1979, with the nameplate applied to the range of LJ off-roaders – utes and wagons alike – in the Australian market. With the following generation in Australia, introduced in 1981 as the Sierra, the Stockman name was reserved for the ute body style.
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With either generation, the Stockman weighed under a tonne and used a small four-cylinder engine. Its last year in our market was 2000, and Suzuki hasn’t offered a ute in Australia since.
“We’re flattered to see the Stockman name back in the headlines,” said Suzuki Australia’s general manager of automobiles, Michael Pachota.
“For many Australians, Stockman is a name that has been synonymous with Suzuki adventure and capability for decades, earning its place in Australian motoring folklore through the Sierra Stockman of the 1980s and 1990s.
“As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
“We’re proud of the heritage Suzuki built around the Stockman name and we’re delighted to see it remains memorable enough to inspire others all these years later. While others may adopt the name, its place in Australian automotive history will always be closely linked with Suzuki.”
Stockman wasn’t the only name on Chery’s shortlist of name submissions which had previously been used by another brand. Longreach was a trim level on the Ford Falcon ute and Terra is the name of a Nissan Navara-based SUV sold overseas.
These were among a claimed 20,000-plus submissions to Chery for its ute-naming competition.
Another name shortlisted was Orca, a not-so-subtle dig at the BYD Shark 6 with which the Chery Stockman will compete.
Chery sales grew in Australia by 176.8 per cent in 2025 to 34,889 units – putting it in 13th position – and are up by 84.3 per cent year-to-date to 20,459 units. In contrast, Suzuki’s sales were down 27.7 per cent to 15,378, putting it in 20th position, and are down 22.0 per cent to 5452 units so far this year.
While Suzuki doesn’t compete in all of the same segments that Chery does, its once-popular Vitara rivals the Chery Tiggo 4. Last year, the Tiggo 4 outsold the Vitara by around 10 to one.
The Jimny is by far Suzuki’s most popular model. So far this year, the Japanese small-car brand has delivered 3193 examples, ahead of the second-placed Swift hatch with 1282. But unlike its Sierra ancestor, there’s no ute version available.
The new Stockman ute could give Chery a significant bump in volume, as it eyes a top-five spot in the Australian market by 2027. It’s arriving here first with a diesel PHEV powertrain, with a petrol PHEV powertrain to follow in 2027.
Suzuki doesn’t have a conventional ute in any market, though it offers pickup versions of its cabover kei-class commercial vehicle, the Carry, in markets such as Japan, and these have become popular grey imports to Australia. Its last attempt at a Ford Ranger rival was the Equator, a rebadged Nissan Frontier (Navara) sold in the US from 2009 to 2012.
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