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
Chery, China’s largest auto exporter, continues to bowl over consumers, commentators and other stakeholders in both the South African and global markets.
This week, the verified global sales statistics for Chery and other vehicle brands were published, which show that Chery continues to outperform in these markets.
According to these statistics, Chery sold 1.23 million new models in 2022. Of these, more than 450 000 units were exported from China, making Chery the country's most prolific vehicle exporter, thus giving it a growth rate in international sales of 67.7%.
In China, Chery ranked second overall with domestic sales growth of 28.8%, which significantly exceeds the industry average of 2.1%.
To add to this impressive achievement, Chery reported in January that it hit a new global monthly sales record of 101 379 vehicles and an export record of over 50 000 units in a single month. This is the eighth month that the brand sold more than 100 000 units in a month, and it points to another record year in 2023.
“South Africa has made a significant contribution to Chery’s global sales success,” says Tony Liu, Executive Deputy General Manager of Chery South Africa.
“We became a top 10 vehicle brand after just eight months in the country and sold over 10 000 units in the full calendar year. This is a new record for a new vehicle brand in its first year in South Africa, and it supports our customer-first approach of offering exciting vehicles at affordable prices to South African customers.”
According to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (naamsa), Chery South Africa reported 8013 units sold in 2022. This number was composed of sales of the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro (4622 units), the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro (2084 units) and the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro (1307 units). It is assumed that the claim of “over 10 000 units” includes internal sales and models never recorded on the register.
JayJay Botes, National Sales Manager for Chery, says: “Our customer-centric focus is the reason our dealer footprint now spans every province in South Africa. We currently have 76 appointed dealers to better support our growing customer base and to improve accessibility to this amazing brand.”
The latest model to join the South African line-up is the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro MAX.
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.