South Africa can look forward to a new Chinese car brand in the near future, courtesy of Chery.
The automaker recently announced at the 2025 Shanghai Auto Show that another one of its sub-brands – iCar – will launch in South Africa by early 2026.
iCar is the manufacturer’s all-electric division, specializing in battery-powered 4x4s aimed at younger audiences.
This makes it the fifth brand from the Chery Group to make an appearance in South Africa alongside Chery, Omoda, Jaecoo, and Jetour.
Admittedly, iCar was already confirmed for South Africa, albeit in a very different manner.
Chery South Africa previously confirmed to TopAuto that it planned to introduce new cars from across its various brands in our market, but that these units would be sold under one of three existing names – Chery, Omoda, or Jaecoo.
This was the case with the Omoda C9 that launched here in late 2024, which is actually a rebadged version of the Exeed RX.
Exeed is Chery’s most luxurious brand, but the company has thus far opted not to launch Exeed here in an official capacity.
Instead, the RX was brought in under the C9 name to expand Omoda’s local roster, which up until then had only a single unit in the C5 crossover.
Something similar was initially planned for iCar, which was set to appear in South Africa under the Jaecoo banner.
The one confirmed model – the iCar 03 – was previously going to be sold here as the Jaecoo J6, but the company has since had a change of heart.
A spokesperson for Omoda South Africa confirmed to TopAuto that, after careful consideration, the automaker will launch iCar in an official capacity as its vehicles are too different to be sold under one of its other templates.
The end result is that iCar is coming to South Africa, and it will feature its own dealership network separate to that of Chery, Omoda, or Jaecoo.
What to expect
The first two models earmarked for South Africa are the 03 and V23.
The “0” and “V” designations refer to iCars two main vehicle lines, with the former being centred on urban vehicles while the latter is more focused on off-road models.
That being said, the 03 and the V23 both share design characteristics reminiscent of other small 4×4 SUVs such as the Suzuki Jimny.
This is not a coincidence, either, as the automaker stated at the Shanghai Auto Show that its cars take inspiration from the classic 4x4s of yesteryear such as the Toyota Land Cruiser models of the 1980s.
The result is a semi-retro futurist look for the 03 and V23, both of which are electric vehicles (EVs).
This means they will both be offered as battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) with large power cells with the capacity to drive roughly 400km between trips to the nearest plug.
If pure-electric cars are not your thing, both iCar models will also be sold as range-extender hybrids, which use a petrol engine to power an electric motor that drives the wheels.
These are still technically considered electric cars in China as the combustion engine does not power the car directly, and the result is an EV with a range of over 1,000km.
The range-extender models are still in development, however, so it’ll be some time before we see these units in South Africa.
Loading ...
