This follows several months of above-average sales while the new-vehicle market continued to decline. In August, for instance, Chery sold a record 1 498 new vehicles. This was followed in September by 1 240 sales and 1 302 new vehicles in October.
“Chery continues to win the hearts of more people in South Africa and set new records along the way,” says Tony Liu, Executive Deputy General Manager of Chery South Africa.
Liu says that Chery continued investing in new models such as the affordable Tiggo 4 Pro LiT, and the relentless expansion of its dealer network has helped it to become a top five passenger vehicle brand a mere two years after Chery South Africa first opened its doors.
The Tiggo 4 Pro LiT is available at under R300 000, significantly lowering the entry-point to the Chery brand.
In October, Chery sold 856 Tiggo 4 Pro models, making it the top-selling model for the brand. Chery also sold 250 Tiggo 7 Pro models and welcomed 196 owners to its flagship Tiggo 8 Pro range.
Sales statistics by naamsa support Liu’s statement. It put Chery’s market share at 4.35% in October, while the overall market contracted by 3.5% in the same month.
“The current decline in the new-vehicle market reflects the underlying pressure on families’ disposable income and the general poor performance of the South African economy.
“In this environment, South African families and businesses are looking for the best possible value for money and for this they are turning to Chery.”
Chery’s jaw-dropping local performance is no flash in the pan though, but rather the logical extension of the brand’s ever deepening roots and success in the international auto market. In October, Chery Group sold 200,313 vehicles, marking a giant 50.8% year-on-year increase. It was also the first time that Chery Group sold more than 200,000 units in one month. This is a new record although not a surprising one. Since July, the Chery Group has consistently broken its own records, and from January to October, Chery Group accumulated sales of 1,453,550 vehicles, marking a year-on-year growth of 41.6%.
According to the CPCA (China Passenger Car Association), it’s estimated that China’s passenger car retail sales reached approximately 2.02 million units in October, marking year-on-year growth of 9.5%. Chery Group’s overall sales, as well as the sales of its various passenger car brands, have exceeded 50% growth, thus outpacing the industry’s performance more than fivefold. The Tiggo 8 and Tiggo 7, with monthly sales of 22,987 and 26,224 units respectively, have become the star combination driving the group’s sales growth.
In South Africa, Chery has also championed several innovations en route to becoming one of the country’s value-for-money champions.
From launch, the brand has offered every single new vehicle customer an unmatched mechanical warranty. This warranty protects the engine for at least one million kilometres or 10 years, provided the vehicle is still driven by the original owner.
Chery soon expanded on this with a range of value-added services, also included in the price. This added a host of convenience features, such as free scratch and dent repair, free rim repair and free drive-me-home opportunities under the My Chery Care banner.
Later, Chery launched complete range of warranty and service plan extensions at highly competitive prices. Called Chery Extender, the new range of insurance products allows customers to keep their Chery vehicles in tip-top shape, regardless of their age and mileage.
In addition to this Chery Future was also launched this year. The product adds to Chery’s peace-of-mind promise by affording customers the opportunity to guarantee the future value of their new vehicle.
“We will continue to grow our product and service offering,” says Liu. “Next up will be the general introduction of the new Chery Tiggo 7 Pro MAX with its upgraded styling and interior, followed by a number of new models and special editions in the near future.
Content and images supplied via QuickPic