Jetour has only been in South Africa for a single month, but it already has ambitious plans to become one of the top-selling auto brands in the country.
The company recently held a launch event in Sandton, Gauteng, where senior representatives spoke about Jetour’s game plan for our market and its sales goals for the coming years.
The new badge may be unfamiliar to most South Africans, but the Chinese automaker believes it has what it takes to become a top-five brand in just three years, rivaling legacy titles like Toyota and VW.
Make way for the new kid in town
Jetour launched in South Africa in late September with two SUVs known as the Dashing and the X70 Plus.
The carmaker clearly has a lot of faith that these initial offerings will be a big hit in our market, as the company’s first sales goal is to become a top-three best-selling Chinese brand before the end of 2024.
That’s an incredible statement, given that Jetour is giving itself just over three months to hit this target, and its rivals have had a much longer time to establish their presence.
For better context, these were the sales figures for every manufacturer in September 2024, according to Naamsa. Chinese brands are highlighted in red:
- Toyota – 10,890 units
- VW – 5,885 units
- Suzuki – 5,032 units
- Hyundai – 2,841 units
- Ford – 2,823 units
- Isuzu – 1,960 units
- GWM – 1,740 units
- Chery – 1,614 units
- Renault – 1,426 units
- Nissan – 1,425 units
- Kia – 1,284 units
- Mahindra – 1,014 units
- BMW – 961 units
- Mercedes-Benz – 535 units
- Omoda & Jaecoo – 506 units
- Stellantis – 505 units
- Jaguar Land Rover – 312 units
- Honda – 265 units
- BAIC – 207 units
- Mazda – 204 units
- Mitsubishi – 175 units
- JAC – 142 units
- Porsche – 97 units
- Volvo – 83 units
- Proton – 68 units
- Subaru – 22 units
With this established, we can see that Jetour wants to outperform Omoda & Jaecoo, BAIC, and JAC while closing the gap with Chery and GWM in a quarter of a year.
It’s also worth pointing out that GWM’s stable is made up of several sub-brands including Haval, P-Series, Ora, and Tank, which gives it an advantage with a diverse roster covering everything from crossovers to bakkies, 4×4 SUVs, and electric cars.
This is only the start for Jetour, however, as its next goal is for at least one of its vehicles to crack the top 10 best-selling cars list by the end of 2025.
To get a sense of what this means, these were the top 10 models from September 2024:
- Toyota Hilux – 2,942 units
- VW Polo Vivo – 2,407 units
- Ford Ranger – 2,382 units
- Toyota Corolla Cross – 2,045 units
- Isuzu D-Max – 1,592 units
- Toyota Fortuner – 1,086 units
- Hyundai Grand i10 – 1,062 units
- Chery Tiggo 4 Pro – 990 units
- VW Polo – 948 units
- Nissan Magnite – 869 units
Jetour only sells two cars in South Africa right now with the Dashing and X70, which will both receive a flagship variant next year.
It will also launch a new 4×4 SUV called the T2, which means one of these three nameplates will need to enter very exclusive territory by the end of 2025.
The Dashing likely has the best shot of meeting this target, and the Corolla Cross is its main rival on the list in terms of price, as the former starts at R439,900, while the latter goes for R408,400.
In 2026, the goalposts will shift again, and Jetour’s new target is to become a top 10 brand in South Africa.
While the top 10 can vary from month to month, this means that the automaker will need to hit sales figures on par with something like Mahindra, Kia, Nissan, and Renault, as well as its two main Chinese rivals.
The final ambition is to enter the top five in 2027, putting it in elite company with juggernauts like Toyota, VW, Suzuki, Hyundai, and Ford.
Ford and Toyota in particular are carried by their hugely successful bakkie offerings with the Hilux and Ranger, which is no doubt why Jetour plans to introduce a model of its own that same year.
Jetour is currently working on a double cab called the P5, which will go to war against the Hilux, Ranger, and other favourites like the Isuzu D-Max and Mahindra Pik Up when it lands in 2027.
Between now and 2027, the company will also launch additional vehicles in its T-badged Adventure SUV series, including the T1, T5, and T0, which may prove to be an alternative to picks like the Toyota Fortuner or Prado.
Loading ...
