Chery names its first bakkie Grootman
Chery has named its first bakkie for South Africa Grootman, a name chosen by South Africans. The model is planned to make its local debut in the first quarter of 2027.
- Product News
- 2 October 2026
Absa Vehicle and Asset Finance (AVAF) hosted its Top Ten Buyers Awards in Isando recently.
The awards, which are an annual institution, celebrated the top 10 supporters of AVAF’s trade centres. The criteria for the awards were most rand value spent by a dealer in 2022.
In 2022, the trade centres generated R1.5 billion of which the top 10 buyers contributed a staggering 26 per cent, translating into 10 000 units sold.
Charl Potgieter, Managing Executive at AVAF, lauded the winners, saying it was a phenomenal feat in light of a challenged economy that was dealing with everything from interest rate increases and distressed customers to high inflation.
According to Charl, he never lost faith in the auto industry’s resilience saying: “The market might be tough, but the dealers are tougher.”
Johan de Necker, Senior Manager of the AVAF Trade Centres, also lauded the mammoth effort of the top 10, with a special nod to those who bought nationally from the different trade centres.
The Top 10 buyers include:
Chery has named its first bakkie for South Africa Grootman, a name chosen by South Africans. The model is planned to make its local debut in the first quarter of 2027.
South Africa’s new vehicle market recorded aggregate domestic sales of 61 645 units in September 2026, an increase of 12.7% compared with the 54 706 units sold during September 2025.
SA Auto Week 2026 is scheduled to take place in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, from 13 to 16 October, with the event marking five years of SA Auto Week.
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Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?
George Carlin
South Africa’s new vehicle market recorded aggregate domestic sales of 61 645 units in September 2026, an increase of 12.7% compared with the 54 706 units sold during September 2025.
SA Auto Week 2026 is scheduled to take place in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, from 13 to 16 October, with the event marking five years of SA Auto Week.
South Africa’s domestic new-vehicle market strengthened in September, recording 61 645 sales, its highest monthly total of 2026. Sales increased by 3 747 vehicles, or 6.5%, from August’s originally reported total and were 12.7% higher than in September 2025.