Buy a mini-pickup for only $8,950!

By Russ and Tiña De Maris

Who can forget Pac-Man, the cute little video character that revolutionized video arcade games back in the 1980s? Well, there’s a Chinese manufacturer who wants to make that kind of memory with its product: Pickman. Unlike Pac-Man, Pickman won’t be rolling out in a video arcade, but rather, rolling down a street near you because Pickman is a new entrant to the pickup truck market.

Don’t imagine hitching up your fifth-wheel to a Pickman pickup. While the truck’s price is small, a miniscule $8,950, its payload is pretty small, too: 1,100 pounds of cargo carrying capacity.

But hey! This flashy Chinese import won’t set you back much at the fuel pump – Pickman is an electric truck that cruises along at an outstanding 28 miles per hour. That top speed in itself should save money for some – if you get frequent tickets for speeding, that should be a thing of the past.

Kaiyun Motors, Pickman’s producer, may have its hands full with competition. Consider that U.S. giant truck builder Ford says it’s rolling out an all-electric version of its popular F150. Kaiyun isn’t worried. “2019 will be year one for Kaiyun as we take on overseas markets including the U.S.,” a Kaiyun representative told Bloomberg News. “We can make our Pickman as successful as the F-150.”

Maybe Pickman will make it’s mark among teardrop RV owners. Lightweight. Economical. And as long as your campground isn’t too far from home, it shouldn’t be too much of stretch to imagine a Pickman pulling your popup – as long as you don’t exceed the 75-mile range per “fill up.”