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
Renault Group, Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, the members of one of the world’s leading automotive alliances, announced common projects and actions to accelerate and to shape their shared future towards 2030.
Continuing the Leader-Follower scheme defined in May 2020, select technology is developed by one leading team with the support of those who follow, thereby allowing each member of the Alliance to access all the key technologies.
“Among the world's automotive leaders, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance is a proven, unique model. For 22 years, we have been building on our respective cultures and strengths for our common benefit,” said Jean-Dominique Senard, Chairman of the Alliance.
The Alliance members have developed a “smart differentiation” methodology that defines the desired level of commonality for each vehicle, integrating several parameters of possible pooling, such as platforms, production plants, powertrains or vehicle segment.
This is supplemented and enhanced by a stricter approach to design and upper-body differentiation. For example, the common platform for the C and D segment will carry five models from three brands of the Alliance (Nissan Qashqai and X-Trail, Mitsubishi Outlander, Renault Austral and an upcoming seven-seater SUV).
Strengthening this process, the Alliance members will enhance usage of common platforms in the coming years from 60% today to more than 80% of its combined 90 models in 2026.
The Alliance will also accelerate its investment in electric mobility, with an additional investment of 23 billion euro in the next five years, resulting in 35 new EV models by 2030.
CMF-EV is the global, flexible, EV platform. It will be on the road soon as the base for the Nissan Ariya EV crossover and Renault Megane E-Tech Electric. The CMF-EV platform, with its technological innovations and the potential offered by its modularity, is a benchmark platform for a new generation of electric vehicles for the Alliance partners.
The platform has been created to integrate and optimise all the elements specific to a 100% electric powertrain, hosting a new, high-performance motor and an ultra-thin battery. By 2030, more than 15 models will be based on the CMF-EV platform, with up to 1.5 million cars produced on this platform a year.
The Alliance is working with common partners to achieve real scale and affordability, which will enable it to reduce battery costs by 50% by 2026 and 65% by 2028.
With shared platforms and electronics, by 2026 Alliance members expect to have more than ten million vehicles on the road across 45 Alliance models equipped with autonomous driving systems.
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.