China's Miniature Electric Trucks Might Come To North America

A tiny electric truck from China is coming to the United States later this year.

Ford, Chevrolet, and Ram have got to be quaking in their cowboy boots at this news. Kaiyun Motors, a small electric vehicle startup located in China, is bringing their Pickman electric pickup truck to the US of A in the year of our lord 2019.

The Pickman certainly has all the big, full-size pickups beat on price. Starting at just $5,000, the Pickman is entirely battery-powered and can carry as much as 1,100 lbs (including the weight of passengers). Under the hood is an itty-bitty 4 kW electric motor that is capable of rocketing the Pickman to a blistering speed of 28 mph for an all-electric range of 75 miles.

It also clocks in at just under 1,000 lbs. Storage space is at a bit of a premium.

Alright, the Pickman has a few flaws that will probably keep it from hanging with the big boys. But you gotta admit, $5,000 for an electric pickup is a great deal. They’re sold in China for 17,000 yuan (or around $2,500 USD), but they’re being marked up for the US market due to "revisions and added features such as reinforced structures and storage space for guns."

Well, at least they certainly know their target market.

According to Bloomberg, the Pickman has achieved all regulatory approvals to be sold Stateside, which means we can expect to see 10,000 units arriving from across the Pacific later this year. Kaiyun expects these little trucks to appeal to businesses that need some utility and mobility but don’t need a full-size pickup. Think farmers, port authorities, zookeepers, and construction sites.

In case you were still wondering, the Pickman is definitely not going to be road-legal. It doesn’t have a lot of very necessary features to be driven on the road, such as turn signals, seatbelts, or crumple zones. It also has a windshield made of thin plexiglass.

We don’t see the Pickman replacing the Ford F-150 as the best-selling truck in America any time soon, but this little truck certainly has its charm. And check out this advertisement from 2017 that looks like it’s from 1991. This little truck has spunk.