All the new Chinese vehicles that launched in South Africa

 ·5 Jan 2024

Chinese carmakers have been very busy in South Africa, introducing 11 different models to the South African Market in 2023.

Chinese vehicles have become hugely popular among South African motorists, offering luxury cars at affordable prices that are now built to last.

This is even though cars made by Chinese brands have historically been labelled as unreliable vehicles that wouldn’t last as long as their European and Japanese counterparts.

However, this trend is fast becoming a thing of the past as Chinese brands seem to be pulling ahead in the South African car market. Over the years, the demand for notable Chinese brands such as Chery and Haval – and, by extension GWM – has increased significantly.

Additionally, 2023 included three new brands that opened their doors on local soil for the first time: BYD, Maxus, and Omoda.

BYD is an all-electric brand often considered to be China’s answer to Tesla, while Omoda is a new luxury sub-division of Chery.

Maxus, on the other hand, is a South African distributor for the Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation (SAIC), which currently sells South Africa’s first battery-electric double-cab bakkie.

Chery and Haval had new SUVs with the launch of the Tiggo 7 Pro Max and two new Jolions, respectively, while GWM produced two very different vehicles with the electric Ora hatchback and a new P-Series double cab.

The Ora is officially the country’s cheapest electric car, while the new P-Series is a range-topping model that is only being sold in limited numbers.

Finally, there’s JAC, which came out with the updated T8 bakkie, as well as its long-awaited flagship T9 4×4.

These are all of the Chinese vehicles that went on sale in South Africa in 2023, as outlined by TopAuto.


BYD Atto 3

  • Starting price – R768,000
  • Number of models – 2

Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Max

  • Starting price – R529,900
  • Number of models – 3

GWM Ora

  • Starting price – R686,950
  • Number of models – 4

GWM P-Series LTD

  • Starting price – R694,950
  • Number of models – 1

Haval Jolion HEV

  • Starting price – R549,950
  • Number of models – 2

Haval Jolion S

  • Starting price – R489,550
  • Number of models – 1

JAC T8

  • Starting price – R449,900
  • Number of models – 2

JAC T9

  • Starting price – R529,900
  • Number of models – 4

Maxus T90 EV

  • Starting price – R1,100,000
  • Number of models – 1

Omoda C5

  • Starting price – R447,900
  • Number of models – 5

Omoda C5 GT

  • Starting price – R589,900
  • Number of models – 1

Read: The 10 best-selling car brands and models in South Africa at the end of 2023

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