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
Chinese vehicle brands are making serious inroads into the car rental market. Chery celebrated its first large fleet transaction, when it handed 100 Chery Tiggo 4 Pro models to Hertz Rent A Car.
At the hand-over, Chunqing Chen (Vice President of Chery International and Director of Chery South Africa), and Tony Liu (Executive Deputy General Manager of Chery South Africa) handed over the first set of keys to Hertz executives.
The transaction follows shortly after Chery created its dedicated Fleet Sales division with industry veteran Lazola Qungwana at the helm.
“We opened our doors earlier this year in response to the overwhelming interest in Chery vehicles, both from small and large corporate buyers. Our dedicated Fleet Sales team offers round the clock support to large fleet operators such as Hertz, and we are very excited to start our relationship with them,” says Lazola.

In dealing with Hertz Rent A Car, they highlighted Chery’s exemplary service plan and mechanical warranty. The Tiggo 4 Pro was, after all, the first SUV in the Chery stable to offer a full 10-year or 1-million-kilometre engine warranty alongside the standard mechanical warranty and service plan.
Chery backs this unmatched warranty with its large new parts warehouse in Gauteng, from where it delivers all service and repair parts daily to dealers across South Africa.
As part of its service to vehicle rental fleets, Chery guarantees same-day servicing for vehicles that it receives before 14:00. It has also made special arrangements for weekend services and repairs on a Saturday with dealers.
Chery further guarantees the transport of any vehicle that needs attention to the nearest Chery dealer. For this support, Chery can count on its partnership with the Automobile Association and the many other suppliers in its network.
In the unlikely event that a service or repair part is not available, Chery will guarantee that the vehicle will not be stationary for more than five days, thus ensuring this highest possible operating time for each rental vehicle.
All hundred Chery Tiggo 4 Pro models in the Hertz fleet are the top-specification Tiggo 4 Pro Elite CVT models.
This range-topping model is equipped with Chery’s award-winning 1.5 litre turbo-petrol engine that delivers 108 kW and 210 Nm of torque through the continuously variable transmission to the front wheels.
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.