Chinese carmakers have been very busy in South Africa this year introducing a healthy assortment of 11 different vehicles to our roads.
This includes three new brands that opened their doors on local soil for the first time, these being BYD, Maxus, and Omoda.
BYD is an all-electric brand often considered to be China’s answer to Tesla, while Omoda is a new luxury sub-division of Chery.
Maxus, on the other hand, is a South African distributor for the Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation (SAIC), which currently sells South Africa’s first battery-electric double-cab bakkie.
Chery and Haval had new SUVs with the launch of the Tiggo 7 Pro Max and two new Jolions, respectively, while GWM produced two very different vehicles with the electric Ora hatchback and a new P-Series double cab.
The Ora is officially the country’s cheapest electric car, while the new P-Series is a range-topping model that is only being sold in limited numbers.
Finally, there’s JAC, which came out with the updated T8 bakkie, as well as its long-awaited flagship T9 4×4.
New competitors
These are all of the Chinese vehicles that went on sale in South Africa in 2023.
Click on the underlined links to visit TopAuto Car Prices for information on pricing and new models on offer from the various manufacturers.
BYD Atto 3
- Starting price – R768,000
- Number of models – 2
Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Max
- Starting price – R529,900
- Number of models – 3
GWM Ora
- Starting price – R686,950
- Number of models – 4
GWM P-Series LTD
- Starting price – R694,950
- Number of models – 1
Haval Jolion HEV
- Starting price – R549,950
- Number of models – 2
Haval Jolion S
- Starting price – R489,550
- Number of models – 1
JAC T8
- Starting price – R449,900
- Number of models – 2
JAC T9
- Starting price – R529,900
- Number of models – 4
Maxus T90 EV
- Starting price – R1,100,000
- Number of models – 1
Omoda C5
- Starting price – R447,900
- Number of models – 5
Omoda C5 GT
- Starting price – R589,900
- Number of models – 1
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