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
Co-founder of Red Bull energy drinks, Dietrich Mateschitz, died this past Saturday (22 October) at the age of 78, after a long-term illness.
Austrian Mateschitz founded the company in 1987 with Thai national, Chaleo Yoovidhya. The company quickly became and remained the leader in the energy-drinks market.
Red Bull became associated with extreme sports owing to its sponsorship of, among other sports, big wave surfing, cliff diving, mountain biking and trail ultra-running.
But one of the brand’s biggest success stories remains its venture into Formula 1 when it bought the then-Jaguar team in 2004. Over two decades, the team was built into a champion team with Sebastian Vettel at the steering wheel.
On local soil, Red Bull has been a sponsor of motorsport champions such as Giniel de Villiers, a Dakar champion.
Last October Mateschitz’s net worth was valued at around $25 billion.
Red Bull currently employs 13 000 people in 172 countries and sells and estimated 10 billion cans of the energy drink annually.
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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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.