Features / 18 August 2025 / Michael Taylor

Every Chinese car brand on sale in South Africa right now – With 10 more on the way

There are 15 Chinese car brands on sale in South Africa right now, and at least 10 more are expected to launch in the near future.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Chinese carmakers have exploded onto the scene in recent years, as they now represent a staggering 30% of the 49 different brands available in our market.

What’s more, most of these names only appeared in the last two years, illustrating just how rapidly Chinese manufacturers have entered the local auto scene.

Right now, the market leaders are Chery and GWM, which have risen through the sales charts to become the eighth and sixth best-selling brands in the country, respectively.

Other top performers include Omoda, Jaecoo, and Jetour, which are outperforming more familiar names like Mazda, Opel, and Honda despite their short time on the market.

The success of these companies has undoubtedly inspired their peers back in China, as several more automakers have announced their intention to launch in South Africa in recent months.

This includes Changan, Deepal, Denza, Dongfeng, Geely, iCaur, JMC, Leapmotor, Lepas, and Riddara, all of which are expected to launch sometime between late 2025 and early 2026.

When this happens, motorists will have access to 25 different car makes from the People’s Republic, representing 42% of all the brands on sale in South Africa.

It’s worth noting that some of these companies are sub-brands of existing nameplates.

This is the case with iCaur and Lepas, which are two more brands that fall under the Chery Holding Group.

Another example is Deepal, which is a sub-brand of Changan specializing in new-energy vehicles.

The same applies to Riddara, which is a subsidiary of Geely that makes electric bakkies.

Regardless of their origins, the end result is that Chinese automakers are flooding into South Africa at an alarming rate, and it remains to be seen whether the market can sustain so many new faces in such a short amount of time.

A lot to keep track of

Below is a list of all the Chinese car brands that are currently on sale in South Africa, as well as those that have announced their plans to launch here in the near future.

Click on the underlined links for more information.