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
The INEOS Group, created by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, will soon build three models at its Hambach manufacturing facility in Germany.
The group this week confirmed that it will add a fully electric 4x4 to its range. The model will not simply be a revised version of the current INEOS, but will sit on its own, slightly smaller, platform. The platform will be derived from the original Grenadier platform.
According to INEOS, the new model will retain the hard-working ethos of the Grenadier and will be built at the same factory as the Grenadier and the soon-to-be-launched Grenadier pick-up.
The company also confirmed that it’s backing hydrogen as the long-term solution for clean energy and that it will soon start testing this technology in the Grenadier.

In South Africa, the INEOS business is run by Tim Abbott, the previous CEO of BMW in the country. Abbott handed over the keys of BMW in 2020, and he now runs INEOS in sub-Saharan Africa.
Abbott recently confirmed to Dealerfloor that it has partnered with the SMH Group to create dealers in Johannesburg and Pretoria and with SMG in Cape Town and Durban. The order book for the five-door Grenadier opened on 18 May this year, and INEOS has confirmed that the first deliveries will take place in October.
The first Grenadier to land in SA will be powered by the choice of a six-cylinder BMW-sourced engine in either petrol or diesel. Pricing is expected to start at R1 395 000.
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.