Chery for the first time reported its new-vehicle sales figures to Naamsa in July 2022, and with a total of 1,262 units sold the automaker is now officially a top 10 passenger car brand in South Africa.
This is made even more impressive when considering that the Chinese manufacturer only started selling its vehicles in the country again in November 2021, launching with the Tiggo 4 Pro which has proved to be a smash hit with local car buyers.
This small SUV sold 689 models in July, accounting for more than half of the company’s total sales.
However, Chery has been hard at work in the past nine months and have also introduced two more SUVs to the local market in the form of the Tiggo 7 Pro and Tiggo 8 Pro.
These larger models landed in South Africa in May and February of this year, respectively, and moved 372 and 201 units during July.
“Both these luxury SUVs now rank first in their respective segments, based on sales,” said Chery.
The manufacturer currently offers three vehicle ranges in South Africa with another one “coming soon“.
Dealership expansion
According to Jay Jay Botes, national sales manager of Chery South Africa, all of Chery’s sales thus far have been made through the dealer network and not as bulk purchases from fleet or rental companies.
“Chery’s sales performance is a tribute to our dealer network, which has been our greatest ambassador and which has been exemplary in its treatment of our Chery customers,” said Botes.
The company re-entered South Africa in 2021 with a total of 30 dealers, but now in August 2022 it already boasts a chain of 60 dealers with expansion plans into the rest of the continent soon to be announced.
In the meantime, Chery also launched a Legacy Customer Campaign in April this year which “invited customers who purchased a vehicle from an importer before Chery entered the market to join the Chery family and have their vehicles safely and comprehensively serviced at their local Chery deal,” said Botes.
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