Chery is one of South Africa’s best-selling car brands, and its family of vehicles will soon be getting much larger with the addition of new models pulled from its various sub-brands.
A representative from Chery South Africa confirmed to TopAuto that it plans to introduce cars from its Exeed, iCar, Karry, and Luxeed divisions, but that these will be sold under one of the company’s existing nameplates – Chery, Jaecoo, and Omoda.
A big family
The Chery Automobile Group is a massive entity with seven different brands under its umbrella, including Exeed, iCar, Jaecoo, Jetour, Karry, Luxeed, and Omoda.
The parent company re-opened its doors in South Africa in 2021 and now sells three models across its Chery Tiggo Pro range of SUVs, including the Tiggo 4 Pro, 7 Pro, and 8 Pro.
In 2023, the automaker expanded its local operations by introducing its first sub-brand, Omoda, which currently has a single vehicle namely the C5 crossover but is planning to launch the flagship C9 and all-electric E5 models later this year.
2023 Omoda C5
In addition, the Chinese carmaker’s latest brand, Jaecoo, is setting up shop on our shores very soon with its J7 luxury SUV, which will be joined later this year by the larger J8.
These three badges, Chery, Jaecoo, and Omoda, will act as the pillars of the Chery umbrella in South Africa, and the plan now is to use them to bring in other models from across the carmaker’s many stables.
2024 Jaecoo J8
Starting with iCar, this is the company’s dedicated electric vehicle (EV) brand that was first announced in April 2023 along with its first model, the iCar 03.
Chery did not provide us with any specifics on its incoming vehicles, so we can’t definitively say that the 03 is coming to South Africa just yet, but it did state that iCar will fall under one of the three other branches, so something like an “Omoda 03” seems like a strong possibility.
The 03 went on sale in China this February and is marketed as an affordable EV aimed at younger audiences with a price of 109,800 RMB, which works out to roughly R400,000 at the current exchange rate.
While this sticker is likely to be much higher if it’s brought to South Africa, owing to the exchange rate and high import duties, the 03 is still expected to be one of the cheaper EVs in the country alongside the BYD Dolphin and GWM Ora.
2023 iCar 03
The other three brands coming to South Africa are Exeed, Luxeed, and Karry, but once again these will not be launching here in an official capacity, opting instead to use the Omoda badge.
Exeed is another luxury carmaker that debuted in 2017 and currently has six different cars, including three crossovers (LX, RX, and Sterra ET), three SUVs (TX, TXL, VX), and one sedan (Sterra ES).
The two Sterra models are battery electrics, while the others all use petrol engines.
2023 Exeed LX
Luxeed is the result of a partnership between Chery and tech company Huawei that was announced in May 2023 and launched its first car, the electric S7 sedan, only a few months later in November.
The S7 is a premium model with a starting price of $35,000 (R670,000), and there are already plans to follow this up with another unit, the S9 coupe.
2023 Luxeed S7
Finally, there’s Karry, which is Chery’s light commercial division responsible for things like delivery vans, MPVs, and pick-up trucks.
While it’s unlikely that most of these vehicles will be brought to South Africa as most are tailored for the Chinese market, the company is developing a new mid-size double cab that is expected to take on the likes of the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux, and Isuzu D-Max which will undoubtedly be a massive hit in our bakkie-centric landscape
Given the success of the Chinese GWM P-Series in the domestic market, it would be more surprising if Chery didn’t bring its bakkie to South African showrooms than if it did.
The only brand that Chery did not confirm for a local introduction is Jetour, which is another crossover and SUV producer catering to the mass market.
While this doesn’t rule out the possibility of Jetour’s models ever making an appearance on our soil, it looks like this brand is not under consideration at the moment.
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