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
By Monzer Tohme, Managing Director, Middle East & Africa - Keyloop
The automotive industry is holding strong in South Africa. But there is no doubt that customer expectations are changing - fast. Consumers are used to exceptional online retail experiences, highly personalised communications, and the ability to move effortlessly on and offline.
To keep pace with modern consumers, automotive retailers need to take a forensic look at their customer experience (CX) if they are to deliver what consumers want.
Keyloop has recognised that we are in an important moment of change for the industry. Fuelled by technology, we encourage retailers to unlock data silos to obtain a 360-degree view of the consumer and transform each touchpoint across the buying and ownership journey, shifting the focus from closing a sale to opening a relationship.
We call this way of thinking Experience-First, and our technology platform has been created to empower dealerships to embrace digital transformation and deliver seamless customer journeys.
Imagine a world where the consumer can self-serve how and when they interact with you; where personalised, timely communications capture customers; where digitisation minimises errors, automates processes and frees up time to care for individuals. Thanks to Experience-First, this is the future of car buying in South Africa.
To look under the hood of Experience-First, Keyloop has published a whitepaper written by our leadership team. Titled Revolutionising automotive retail through technology, the whitepaper is an A-Z of the Experience-First approach, showcasing how you can transform your CX to meet today’s demands.
If you would like to speak to us more about Experience-First, contact is via https://keyloop.com/en-za/contact.

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.