Chinese brand Great Wall will not be refreshing UK stocks of the Steed pickup truck in the immediate future, due to the non-availability of a Euro 6 (EU6) engine to power the pickup and conform to the latest emissions legislation.
For full details on Euro 6 and how it affects vans and pickups click here
However, we have been told that this does not spell the end for Great Wall in the UK. Rather, the brand is being put on pause until an engine has been developed.
How long will it be until Great Wall has a Euro 6 engine for the Steed?
The Euro 6 emissions standard is – as the name suggests – European legislation. You probably won’t be surprised to learn that it is therefore of limited concern to a Chinese manufacturer that sells only a small number of vehicles in this part of the world.
Great Wall is a budget brand that sells the vast majority of the vehicles it produces at home in China.
So at this point in time there is little reason for it to concentrate development costs on meeting the EU6 requirements for Europe – which involves investment in additional technology to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions (such as the NOx trap used by the Mitsubishi L200 or the more complex SCR and AdBlue system used by the Nissan NP300 Navara).
Does this mean we’ll never see a Great Wall pickup in the UK ever again?
While the UK importer is not aware of any immediate plans for a Euro 6 engine, it is optimistic that Great Wall will start building one in time and has no plans to withdraw from the UK or European markets permanently.
Unfortunately, at this stage it is impossible to say how long we might have to wait to see a refreshed Steed complete with an EU6 engine to actually arrive. We’ll update you with further information as soon as we receive it.
In the meantime we’re told there is limited stock of the EU5-engined Steed (which was updated for 2015) still available. Check with your local dealer for more info. We’re sure they’ll be glad to see you…
Click here to read Parkers’ review of the Great Wall Steed
For full details on Euro 6 and how it affects vans and pickups click here
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