Omoda and Jaecoo are already one of the best-selling car groups in South Africa, placing ahead of several legacy nameplates such as Mazda, Land Rover, and Volvo.
The Chinese brands recently started reporting their sales numbers to Naamsa (the Automotive Business Council), revealing that it was the 16th most popular car group in the country.
Rapid climb through the ranks
Omoda and Jaecoo are two Chinese car brands that fall under the Chery automotive group, though they operate independently of their parent company in South Africa.
The two brands form what is known as “O&J” with joint dealerships across the country offering premium crossovers and SUVs that are intended to be more upmarket than Chery’s Tiggo Pro range.
Omoda made its local debut in April 2023 with the C5 crossover, while Jaecoo arrived a year later with the J7 SUV.
These are currently the only two vehicles available from O&J, though both brands intend to expand their catalogues in the near future with the Omoda C9 and E5, and the Jaecoo J6 and J8.
Despite being on sale for several months, the Chinese automakers have not disclosed their sales figures to Naamsa, until now.
The report for July 2024 included the performance of every car group in South Africa, which you can see below:
- Toyota – 11,131 units
- VW – 6,178 units
- Suzuki – 4,816 units
- Ford – 2,901 units
- Hyundai – 2,699 units
- Isuzu – 2,072 units
- Nissan – 1,884 units
- Chery – 1,701 units
- GWM – 1,562 units
- Renault – 1,210 units
- Kia – 1,068 units
- Mahindra – 1,007 units
- BMW – 994 units
- Stellantis – 573 units
- Mercedes-Benz – 555 units
- Omoda & Jaecoo – 422 units
- Mazda – 240 units
- Jaguar Land Rover – 235 units
- Honda – 208 units
- Volvo – 159 units
- JAC – 158 units
- BAIC – 130 units
- Porsche – 106 units
- Proton – 75 units
- Subaru – 53 units
Omoda sold 224 C5s in July while Jaecoo moved 198 J7s, meaning that O&J was able to place 16th in South Africa’s auto market last month with a combined 422 units.
It’s worth highlighting that O&J’s sales are counted separately from Chery’s, which means the former’s numbers are not inflated by the latter’s already strong performance.
For reference, Audi and Lexus’ sales are included as part of Volkswagen and Toyota’s figures every month, respectively, adding hundreds of units to their final tally.
Another thing to point out is that Stellantis’s purchases comprise several brands including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Fiat, Jeep, Opel, and Peugeot, yet it was only two spots above the Chinese newcomers with their two models.
O&J also managed to place above nine other brands, most of which have a much longer history in South Africa, such as Mazda, Jaguar, Land Rover, Honda, Volvo, Porsche, and Subaru.
It’s another illustration of how quickly Chinese car brands are taking over the local market, largely driven by competitive prices at a time when legacy badges are becoming unobtainable for most of the population.
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