Chery has revealed that it plans to build a new Research and Development (R&D) centre in South Africa.
This was confirmed by the company’s leadership, including Mark Ma, Deputy General Manager of Chery Group SA, Guibing Zhang, President of Chery International, and Tony Liu CEO of Chery Group SA, during a recent press conference held in Wuhu, China.
The brand’s representatives told the media that it is fully committed to the South African market and that it plans to invest in the creation of new local facilities.
For now, this will include a new R&D centre, which will be the first of its kind on the African continent.
Chery currently has eight R&D locations around the world, located in Shanghai, Singapore, North and South America, Central Asia, and Europe.
The South African facility will therefore be the ninth Chery research centre, allowing the carmaker to develop products that are tailored for our market.
Unfortunately, the company did not share any further insights into this facility, so its unclear when and where the site will be built.
It’s also unclear whether the centre will exclusively work on projects for Chery, or if its market data will be used to benefit the company’s other brands such as Omoda, Jaecoo, iCar, or Lepas.
As a reminder, Omoda and Jaecoo (O&J) are a twin brand that offer a more upmarket selection of crossovers and SUVs relative to Chery’s own products.
iCar and Lepas are not currently available in South Africa, but both are scheduled to launch here within the next year.
Lepas is another luxury SUV alternative to Chery’s Tiggo Pro range, while iCar specializes in electric vehicles.
In light of this, it’s also possible that Chery’s R&D site will be used to develop new energy powertrain technology, as most cars across the automaker’s combined lineup are now offered with a hybrid or battery-electric system.
Even more exciting is the fact that the R&D centre may serve as a precursor to a full-blown Chery manufacturing plant in South Africa.
This has not been officially confirmed, but the company’s leaders suggested that such a possibility is on the cards “if market conditions permit,” once feasibility studies are conducted.
While this means that nothing is in the pipeline just yet, it’s difficult to see why Chery would be reluctant to establish an assembly line in South Africa given its enormous success here.
Untapped potential
Chery only relaunched in Mzansi in 2021, yet its sales have exponentially improved year-on-year to the point that it is now one of the country’s top 10 best-performing auto brands.
Just as impressive is O&J, as Omoda launched in 2023 while Jaecoo made its debut in 2024.
Despite their short time on the market, the duo was the 13th best-selling brand in April 2025, outperforming several other companies that have been in South Africa for far longer.
This success means that the Chery Group is likely here to stay, something that is backed up by the brand’s promise of a 10-year warranty on all its products.
One other point to consider is that Chery plans to launch its first bakkie in South Africa in 2026, known as the Himla.
The Himla is a midsize pickup that will compete against local favourites like the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max, and VW Amarok, all of which have one thing in common.
All of the bakkies mentioned above are locally built, which is a major advantage for a subset of vehicles that heavily rely on spare parts and other support from their manufacturers.
It stands to reason that a Himla factory would be a major asset for Chery, allowing it to compete in South Africa while potentially supplying other important markets in Europe, the Middle East, and Australia.
Loading ...
