{"id":825851,"date":"2025-05-28T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=825851"},"modified":"2025-05-28T13:19:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T11:19:44","slug":"warning-to-south-africans-thinking-of-buying-a-chinese-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/motoring\/825851\/warning-to-south-africans-thinking-of-buying-a-chinese-car\/","title":{"rendered":"Warning to South Africans thinking of buying a Chinese car"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chinese vehicles have made significant inroads into the South African car market. However, prospective buyers are warned that some might not survive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is due to the intense competition in the affordable market, and those who buy brands that don\u2019t meet the cut will face poor resale values and concerns over parts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the warning from WeBuyCars CEO Faan van der Walt, who cautioned South Africans to think twice before making the final decision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese car brands have rapidly gained traction in South Africa, offering an appealing mix of affordability and high-tech features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of May 2025, there are 41 new passenger Chinese cars to choose from, with prices ranging from as low as R269,900 to as much as R1.4 million. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, speaking to CapeTalk, Van der Walt warned prospective buyers that a new and highly competitive environment has disadvantages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While many Chinese vehicles are doing well, not all are likely to survive in the South African market, which could have costly consequences for consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This warning comes as competition in the affordable vehicle segment intensifies, with global economic pressures making price the top priority for many South African buyers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Van der Walt points out, affordability now drives purchasing decisions, and that\u2019s precisely where Chinese automakers excel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey offer good specs, modern technology, and competitive pricing, which makes them attractive alternatives to traditional brands,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An analysis by BusinessTech revealed that vehicles from Asia, including those from Chery and Suzuki, have experienced significant growth over the past decade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2014, these two car brands collectively sold 7,699 units. This has increased by a whopping 887% to 76,020 in 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is primarily thanks to Suzuki\u2019s impressive growth, which increased sales from 6,402 in 2014 to 56,109 (776%) in 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Suzuki almost hit 60,000 sales last year, Chery grew 1,435% from 1,297 to 19,911 in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A word of caution<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Brothers Dirk and Faan van der Walt, the founders of WeBuyCars.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

In early 2025, Suzuki overtook the Volkswagen Group to become South Africa\u2019s second-biggest car brand after Toyota, according to Naamsa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This boom has also extended to the used car market. Van der Walt confirmed that second-hand Chinese vehicles are selling quickly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur Chinese brands that we sell as used vehicles do really well. They don\u2019t stick around for long,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey sell quickly because, just as there\u2019s demand for them as new vehicles, there\u2019s also a demand for them as used vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained that Chinese vehicles are hitting the sweet spot for buyers looking for value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom a second-hand value perspective, I would say most of these vehicles are already in a price bracket where there are plenty of buyers around,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cThey don\u2019t have steep depreciation curves. You could typically buy a high-end Chinese vehicle for around R450,000 to R500,000.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van der Walt noted that the price puts them in direct competition with popular models like the Toyota Corolla or VW Polo, making them very appealing to value-conscious consumers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very competitive if you consider that\u2019s the price you pay for a high-end Corolla or Polo,\u201d he said. However, Van der Walt highlighted the risk of such a rapidly expanding market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With many Chinese carmakers only recently entering the South African market, long-term support, parts availability, and resale values for some brands remain uncertain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou might end up purchasing a vehicle with a very poor resale value because they\u2019re no longer represented in South Africa,\u201d he warned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fantastic to have a variety of brands available, and we\u2019re getting good value for our money,\u201d Van der Walt added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever, just as we\u2019ve seen certain European car manufacturers try to establish themselves here and ultimately fail, I\u2019m certain that some Chinese manufacturers will also give up at some point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, stick with the known Chinese brands for now until these other brands build a reputation as being reliable and around for the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also noted that South Africans have historically associated these brands with poor quality, poor resale value, and generally inferior quality, but that\u2019s no longer the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, he urged South Africans to be cautious. With so many Chinese manufacturers trying to gain a foothold in international markets, not all will survive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van der Walt says the key is not to be swayed purely by price. \u201cThink twice before making that final decision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf a brand fails to take off or exits the country, owners could be left with a car that\u2019s hard to maintain, and even harder to sell.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chinese vehicles exploded onto the South African car market. However, WeBuyCars CEO has a word of caution for those thinking of buying these cars.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":781909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11119],"tags":[17142,22670,9162,10421,12861],"class_list":["post-825851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-capetalk","tag-chinese-vehicles","tag-lightstone-auto","tag-naamsa","tag-webuycars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=825851"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":825917,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825851\/revisions\/825917"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/781909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=825851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=825851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=825851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}