Jetour’s plans for South Africa will include more SUVs and a bakkie

Its South African market operations officially underway, Chery-owned Jetour used its gala launch in Sandton City on Friday evening, 20 September, to preview the next batch of models it will launch between 2025 and 2027.

Operating without Chery assistance or input similar to the Omoda and Jaecoo brands that go under the separate O&J division, the extended product roll-out will include a new derivative each of the newly launched Dashing and X70 Plus, four additional SUVs and a first-ever bakkie.

What is coming?

2025

Founded six years ago as the seventh Chery sub-brands, the others being Omoda, Jaecoo, Exeed, iCar, Karry and Luxeed, the expansion in 2025 will involve Deluxe Pro versions of the Dashing and X70 Plus.

While based on the flagship Deluxe trim grade as evident by the designation, the expected difference will be a change of engine from the current 1.5 T-GDI that produces 115kW/230Nm.

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Seemingly, the Pro variants will utilise the 1.6 T-GDI used in the Tiggo 7 Pro Max and Tiggo 8 Pro, the Jaecoo J7 and the Omoda C5 GT developing the now familiar 145kW/290Nm.

Drive will continue to go to the front wheels presumably through the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

Arriving after the Deluxe Pro variants, the eagerly awaited T2 will bolster the brand’s target of selling 10 000 units and be within the top 10 selling brands in South Africa by year-end.

Based on the iCar 03 that debuted last year, the T2, known as the Jetour Traveller in China, adopts a boxy look derived from the Ford Bronco and Defender 110 with a claimed ground clearance of 220 mm, a low range transfer case, a centre limited slip differential and electronically locking rear differential.

Set to be sold in Jaecoo guise as the all-electric J6 from next year, the T02 is expected to be a petrol-only affair with power coming from either the mentioned 1.5 T-GDI or the 2.0 T-GDI used in the Tiggo 8 Pro Max.

A plug-in hybrid variant could also be offered, however, no further details are known.

2026

Headlining 2026, a year in which the brand expects to sell 20 000 units, will be the T1 and T5 – both still to be launched and therefore under wraps.

Judging by the images on the product presentation slide shown at the event, the Range Rover-inspired T1 will take-up station below the Dashing as the smallest Jetour model, while the T5 will sit above the T2 with an appearance almost identical to the Bronco.

2027

Come 2027, the brand will introduce its first ever bakkie tentatively called the P5.

Although no details were divulged, speculation points to the P5 possibly being derived from Chery’s own model Wuhu confirmed earlier this year is undergoing development.

As such, expect the newcomer to feature a unibody platform rather than a traditional ladder-frame, and derive motivation from a plug-in hybrid powertrain similar to rival BYD’s Shark given Chery’s lack of diesel engines.

Finally, the year will be rounded off by the T0 positioned below the T2 as per its moniker. As with the P5 and T5, no details were disclosed as the model is still being developed.

Committed

At present, the marque has 40 dealerships across the country and a warehouse stocked with R100-million worth of its parts at its head office in Midrand.

“By the end of this year, we aim for 2 000 unit sales, with a cumulative sales goal of 30 000 units over the next three years,” Jetour President, Li Xueyong, said in a statement.

Expect more details about the mentioned models to emerge once into 2025.

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