JAC has joined fellow Chinese auto brand GWM in enlisting a former Holden chassis engineer to fine-tune its models to better suit Australian conditions.
While many automakers localise their vehicles to some extent – including Chinese brands such as BYD and Chery with its upcoming plug-in hybrid diesel ute – Ford is the only automaker still capable of designing and engineering a model from scratch in Australia, where the Ranger and Everest’s T6 platform was developed for global markets.
Earlier this year GWM employed former Holden dynamics guru Rob Trubiani to lead a local chassis tuning program based at the Lang Lang proving ground previously owned by General Motors, starting with its answer to the top-selling Toyota RAV4 – the Haval H6 – and followed by other models including the Cannon Alpha dual-cab.
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Now JAC has followed suit, announcing it has engaged international engineering firm Multimatic and its technical director for vehicle dynamics, former Holden chassis engineer Michael Barber, to develop a localised ride and handling package for its upcoming Hunter ute, also at Lang Lang.
When it goes on sale in mid-2026, the JAC Hunter will be a direct rival for plug-in hybrid utes including the top-selling BYD Shark 6 and other existing PHEV utes in the GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV, and Ford Ranger PHEV.
Mr Barber has been with Multimatic since June 2015, but he started his career as a chassis design engineer for Holden in 1998, before becoming a vehicle dynamics development engineer in 1999. He served in that role for eight years and was responsible for the ride and handling of VU, VX, VY and VE Commodores.
He then spent two years with GM in Michigan, where he was a senior vehicle dynamics engineer working on models including the Cadillac ATS and XTS and Chevrolet Volt and C7 Corvette, before returning to Holden in 2009 to work on the VF Commodore and Holden Cruze, Barina, Malibu, Trax and Spark.
Mr Barber’s final role at Holden was Senior Engineer – Drive Quality until May 2015, when he departed for Multimatic, a global automotive components supplier and manufacturer of niche high-performance vehicles and race cars.
Multimatic’s product portfolio spans everything from Formula 1 shock absorbers and carbon-fibre composite body structures to high-volume suspension control arms and ultra-high-strength crash structure components.
The company also performs race and road car design and development both in the field and at the company’s technical centres in Canada and the UK.
JAC says Mr Barber’s three-plus decades of vehicle dynamics engineering expertise strengthens its commitment to engineering the Hunter specifically for Australian roads and driving conditions, following the completion of the first round of local testing at the Lang Lang proving ground in February.
“Australian roads demand specific engineering expertise, and Michael Barber has spent his career mastering exactly that,” said JAC Motors Australia managing director Ahmed Mahmoud.
“His understanding of what Australian drivers expect will make Hunter match-fit and ready for work.”
JAC says Mr Barber’s involvement forms part of the Hunter’s ongoing Australian local tuning program and will focus on suspension system optimisation and integration, with specific attention on “confident performance across payload scenarios, on-road and off-road conditions, steering precision, and ride comfort”.
“The investment JAC is making, in both time and resources, demonstrates their commitment to developing a vehicle truly suited to Australia,” said Mr Barber.
“JAC has sent us an impressive library of tuning components, which gives us the scope to explore different configurations and find the optimal setup.
“Australian roads are unique – we have challenging surfaces, long distances, and demanding conditions from urban to Outback. I want customers to find Hunter easy to drive and confident across all those conditions, straight out of the box.”
JAC Motors Australia technical director Hongjian Jiang said Multimatic’s chassis tuning program will complement the engineering and validation program JAC has already undertaken with the Hunter, and may even benefit versions of the vehicle sold outside Australia including in China.
“Michael brings a level of dynamics expertise that is rare globally and invaluable for the Australian market,” Mr Jiang said. “His work for JAC is primarily focused on optimising Hunter’s driving dynamics for Australia, while also influencing JAC Hunter’s suspension tune for China and international markets outside Australia.”
Melbourne-based engineering firm Segula Technologies Australia was engaged by JAC to prove the Hunter PHEV powertrain’s readiness for local conditions and customers.
The Hunter is the PHEV version of the turbo-diesel T9 dual-cab ute that debuted the brand in Australia in early 2024.
Back in February, JAC said the Hunter had already completed more than 50,000km of local testing.
Its PHEV powertrain features a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine and two electric motors – one on each axle – with its combined outputs of 385kW and 1000Nm shading the Ranger PHEV’s 207kW/697Nm figures and the Shark 6’s 321kW/650Nm.
Using a 31.2kWh lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery, the JAC dual-cab can also run on electric power for “more than 100km” on an unspecified test cycle.
The Ranger PHEV has 43km of range on the WLTP cycle, while the Cannon Alpha PHEV has approximately 98km of WLTP range (115km on the NEDC cycle).
The Hunter will also have a 3.3kW vehicle-to-load capability, meaning its battery can be used to provide power to equipment or act as a backup energy source for work or camping sites.
Like the T9 ute, the Hunter PHEV will be backed by a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty including for commercial use, 24/7 roadside assistance, capped-price servicing and JAC’s “industry-leading warranty loan vehicle program”.
Australian pricing and final specifications are yet to be announced but prospective customers can register their interest via JAC dealers or the company’s website.
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