The rise and rise of Chinese cars in South Africa

South African motorists are increasingly choosing more affordable cars, particularly Chinese brands.

The days of vehicles such as the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class rating among the top 10 monthly sellers are long gone and it’s no surprise given that even their cheapest models are priced at well over R800,000.

Legacy motoring marques such as Toyota, Volkswagen and Suzuki are the most popular local sellers but Chinese cars have in recent years come to the fore as their build quality improves while their prices continue to undercut more well-known brands. Though their long-term reliability and resale values are unknown factors, they offer good warranties and are fast shedding their negative reputations.

The latest vehicles from behind the red curtain are almost unrecognisable from their cheap-feeling forebears of less than 10 years ago, with greatly improved refinement and sophistication, and the results are showing in the sales charts as they erode the market share of long-standing nameplates.

Brands such as Haval — a subsidiary of GWM — and Chery are performing the best and outselling a number of Japanese, European and Korean marques, while the local market is constantly inundated with new Chinese entries — most recently Omoda, BYD, Jaecoo, Dayun and GAC Motor — offering sophisticated, feature-rich cars at lower prices than legacy brands.

There are more than 25 Chinese car and bakkie model ranges to choose from in South Africa, with more to come.

Jetour, which like Omoda and Jaecoo is a subsidiary of the Chery brand, is a new Chinese nameplate being launched later this month with a range of SUVs.

Standard Bank vehicle and asset finance reports Chinese cars are a growing presence in vehicle finance deals, growing from a 6% share in 2022 to 7.4% in the first half of 2024. Though Chinese brands represent less than 10% of retail sales, their upward trajectory is remarkable given the challenging market conditions, said Derick de Vries, head of automotive retail at Standard Bank vehicle and asset finance.

Haval is the most popular Chinese brand financed by Standard Bank since 2022, followed by Chery and BAIC.

Chery Auto is the most popular Chinese car importer in South Africa. It sold 1,626 units in August, placing it seventh overall in the industry ahead of nameplates that used to feature much higher in the sales charts including Nissan, Renault, Kia, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

GWM, Omoda and Jaecoo were also in the top 20, beating brands that have been in the country for decades including Mazda, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo and Mitsubishi.

In individual model ranges, the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro is Mzansi’s best-selling Chinese vehicle and sold 1,072 units in August, making it the country’s seventh most popular passenger car.

The next-best Chinese seller was the Haval Jolion with 953 units in 12th place, followed by the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro with 345 units in 30th.

Other Chinese cars to move significant volumes in August were the Haval H6 (296), Omoda C5 (290), Chery Tiggo 8 Pro (209), Jaecoo J7 (178) Beijing X55 (98) and GWM Tank 300 (62).

Chinese bakkies have had less success in gatecrashing the light commercial market. GWM, which has been around for a number of years, is the best Chinese performer in the segment with its P-Series one-tonner, which sold 205 units last month, still far off market leaders Toyota Hilux (2,527), Ford Ranger (2,312) and Isuzu D-Max (1,634).

However, the segment is being challenged by a flurry of new Chinese bakkie brands including LDV, Foton and JAC. Of these, only JAC reports its sales figures. It moved 107 T-Series bakkies and 30 X-Series models in August.

As consumers seek more affordable mobility alternatives, it is clear Chinese vehicles are becoming a real force in the local vehicle market.