The rush of new Chinese brands into SA is a new reality, and more are expected to dock in.
In August, global subsidiary of the Chery group, Jetour, will celebrate its first anniversary in SA after launching the Dashing and X70 Plus SUV models last year.
We spoke to Jetour SA vice-president Nic Campbell about how things have progressed.
I mentioned seeing a lot more of the Dashing models along my daily route in the south of Johannesburg, and it checks out.
“I’m not surprised. The Vereeniging branch is doing exceedingly well for us,” says Campbell, and in June Jetour sold 683 new cars across the country. Jetour started reporting its sales numbers to Naamsa in January 2025 and moves around 500 new units per month on average.
But what separates his brand from alternatives?
The VP says competition is fierce and there is no longer any poor or nominally specified models on sale, be they European, Japanese or Korean brands — just a different ethos of operation and customer engagement. He says the initial dim view of Chinese vehicles by SA customers has changed to that of cautious willingness to explore, and that they’ve never had as much choice for vehicles.
Campbell says his company has focused on giving good experiences through its product offerings, pricing and after-sales service, and that the brand’s success during the first year can be attributed to the mutual trust developed between the Jetour and dealer partners, and the planning ahead.
Jetour’s first steps into SA began not with selling cars but setting up a network of dealers and a state of the art warehouse to provide speedy response to service workshops, which earned the brand a Gold Status win in the 2025 National Automobile Dealers’ Association (Nada) dealer satisfaction index survey.
Campbell says new Jetour subsidiaries being set up in the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) region to import cars and parts from Jetour SA will bolster local sales. Botswana is already sourcing cars from SA, and others will join in soon.
Campbell says there has been a delay in broadening the product offering, caused by global demand that interrupted the planned debuts of the Jetour T1 and T2 ranges. The T1 is a 4,705mm long, five-seat family SUV that competes with alternatives, including the Renault Duster.
The T2 is 93mm shorter with a more upright, Land Rover Defender-esque styling and a similar off-road driving disposition. It will compete with the GWM Tank 300 and BAIC B40 as prime examples.
My walkabout at the company’s parts warehouse in Waterfall, Midrand, this week revealed parts boxes labelled T1 and T2, confirming the VP’s commitment for an October 2025 debut for the new pair.
With SA now a changed landscape from when Jetour first arrived in 2024, with new buyer trends, a struggling economy and US-imposed import tariffs, does Campbell support the call that more Chinese brands should start to assemble cars locally to safeguard SA’s automotive industry?
He says there are no plans to build Jetour cars locally, and that he is aware of unconfirmed reports claiming that group brand Chery has been looking at taking over Nissan’s plant in Rosslyn, Pretoria. However, Campbell says any plans to manufacture locally need a viable export programme to be viable.
Jetour SA supports the local industry through partnerships with local suppliers of aftermarket accessories such as tow bars, and Campbell says he would be willing to support the three remaining tyre manufacturing companies still operating in SA after Goodyear announced its exit.
“Customer tyre brand loyalties dictate, and Jetour cars arrive with fitted rubber from the primary source in Wuhu City, China,” explains Campbell.
Jetour’s current car line up is powered by petrol engines, but Campbell says the electrification of Jetour products is in the pipeline and the company’s first plug-in-hybrid derivative in SA is not far off, though he would not be drawn into sharing more details.
In the meantime, SA customers can expect the arrival of Dashing and X70 Plus models with updated features soon, along with the new Jetour T1 and T2.
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