According to Hong Kong's "South China Morning Post" on December 24, Chinese brand cars are becoming more and more common on the streets of major cities in South Africa. For a long time, the South African market has been dominated by Japanese and European automakers.
Overall, Japanese brands such as Toyota, Suzuki, and Nissan dominate the South African market when it comes to car registrations or sales. European brands such as Volkswagen in Germany, as well as American automaker Ford, also have a fair share in South Africa.
But in the family SUV segment, Chinese automakers are beginning to grab some market share, the report said. At present, Great Wall Motor's SUV sales of companies such as Haval and Chery exceed that of some Japanese, European and American brands.
According to the report, according to data from the South African Automobile Business Council, in the first 11 months of this year, some family SUVs and crossovers of Haval and Chery were the best-sellers.
In fact, South African cars advertise **carsco.In the first 11 months of 2023, the Haval H6 led with 5,032 sales, while the Tiguan ranked second with 3,165 units, according to an analysis done by ZA based on data from the South African Automobile Business Council.
The report went on to say that the figures mark a turnaround for some Chinese automakers in the South African market, especially Chery, which has a bumpy experience in the South African market. Chery started selling in South Africa around 2008, but was immediately complained by customers about the quality of the car, the lack of spare parts and the lack of after-sales support.
In recent years, Chery has been working hard to improve the quality of its cars and build a reliable dealer network, starting with its SUV Tiggo 4 Pro. Chery then launched the Tiggo 7 Pro, a mid-size car, as well as the Tiggo 8 Pro, a top-of-the-line model.
The company also offers a large parts warehouse for dealers and customers in South Africa, a robust warranty and service program, and 24-hour roadside assistance.
The report also said that industry analysts said that ** played a key role in the market shift to Chinese automobiles. The cars produced by Haval and Chery represent value for money and offer more features at a slightly lower ** than their counterparts from some European or Japanese automakers.
Walter Madilla, principal analyst for EMEA auto markets** at S&P Global Mobility, said: "It's true that Chinese automakers have taken the South African market by storm. ”
Madila said that the success of Chinese brands is due to "value for money".
He said Chinese automakers have a cost advantage over their competitors, allowing them to offer competitive pricing.
In particular, these vehicles have even become powerful diplomatic tools, the report said. In August this year, Haval and Chery provided hundreds of SUVs to transport delegates and ** in Johannesburg during the BRICS summit.
Alex Mahillo, a visiting scholar at the Southern Inequality Research Centre at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, said that most Chinese brands are equipped with a full set of electronic systems, including panoramic cameras, navigation systems and wireless charging for mobile phones.
That's different from what other automakers are doing, Mahilo said, who see the standard features of these Chinese brands as add-ons that need to be purchased additionally. (Compiled by Liu Baiyun).