GAC Motor has signed a strategic partnership with Salvador Caetano to commence the distribution of its cars in South Africa.
GAC is a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned Guangzhou Automobile Group, the fifth-largest vehicle manufacturer in China with 113,000 employees and shares in both Honda and Toyota.
“Dedicated to the automotive industry for years and present on three continents, GAC Motor has accelerated the process of international business. This partnership with Salvador Caetano Auto in South Africa is the startup of the cooperation of both parties,” said Wang Shunsheng, Deputy General Manager of GAC Motor.
“Both companies will leverage their respective strengths to bring quality products to South Africa while building a strong dealership network focused on customer satisfaction.”
GAC Motor and Salvador Caetano Strategic Partnership Signing
What to expect
GAC Motor currently has 12 models in its global vehicle portfolio covering the sedan, SUV, and MPV segments.
The company has yet to reveal which of these will be coming to local showrooms, but judging from other Asian brands that entered our market in recent years, GAC will likely focus on rolling out its SUVs in South Africa first.
In this popular body shape, it has the GS3, GS4, GS5, GS8, and Emkoo which vary in size and specification, and they are all driven by automatic petrol powertrains.
The entry-level GS3 retails for AED59,900 in the Middle East, which equates to approximately R307,000 at current exchange rates, while the most premium starts at AED169,900 (R871,000).
GAC Motor Empow
In the sedan category, GAC Motor offers the GA4, GA6, GA8, and Empow, with prices ranging from AED59,900 (R307,000) for the entry-level variant to AED103,513 (R531,000) for the GA8.
Again, all of these options are petrol-powered and available with a variety of manual and automatic transmissions.
Regarding MPVs, the automaker sells the GN6 and GN8 in global markets and it will soon add the luxurious M8 to its catalogue.
The GN6 goes for AED89,900 (R461,000) and the GN8 for AED129,900 (R666,000), and both feature petrol motors paired with self-shifting gearboxes.
GAC also has a new-energy subsidiary by the name of Aion which focuses on producing electric sedans, SUVs, and sports cars.
It bears mentioning that the above prices are not the official domestic pricing of GAC’s vehicles, but that they merely provide a base for comparison for where these cars may compete in the South African market.
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