Chery is one of the fastest-growing automakers in South Africa, demonstrating the rapid expansion of Chinese car brands.
This is according to data from TransUnion’s latest Vehicle Pricing Index for Q4 2024, which showed that Chery’s sales experienced an impressive 23.7% year-on-year uptick from the same period in 2023.
Shooting up the ranks
Chery was one of the best-performing manufacturers in the final quarter of 2024, placing alongside Mahindra and Suzuki as the top three brands gaining popularity with local consumers.
It’s the latest indication that the South African market is shifting away from legacy badges towards new options from Asia.
The primary driver of this transition is price, as Chery and other Chinese car brands are noticeably cheaper compared to their more established counterparts.
Case in point is the Tiggo 4 Pro, which is now one of the top 10 best-selling cars in the country with an average of over 1,000 customers per month.
Much of this success comes down to the fact that the Tiggo 4 has a starting price of just R269,900, making it one of the last SUVs on the market to fall below the R300,000 mark.
Despite its entry-level sticker, the Tiggo 4 is actually a competitor to the likes of popular B-segment crossovers like the VW T-Cross, Hyundai Venue, and Kia Sonet.
The T-Cross, in particular, now costs at least R400,000 following a recent facelift, showing that German brands are becoming unaffordable for the average salary in South Africa.
As a result of these ever-growing prices for legacy brands, cash-strapped consumers are moving towards more affordable brands in droves.
This has been the case for most of the 2020s, as Chery relaunched in South Africa in 2021, starting a trend that has since seen the introduction of other names from the People’s Republic such as Omoda, Jaecoo, Jetour, GAC, LDV, Foton, BYD, and MG.
TransUnion noted in its report that Omoda, Jaecoo, and BAIC have also seen a surge in popularity over the last year, confirming that the success of Chinese makes is not just limited to Chery.
That being said, Chery is certainly one of the leaders in its class, as it sold a grand total of 19,791 units in 2024, making it one of the top 10 best-performing brands alongside juggernauts like Toyota, VW, and Ford.
This is a remarkable achievement given that it has only been around for a little over three years, whereas the other brands in the top 10 have cultivated a loyal fan base over the course of several decades.
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