A Chery of a Record

Chery Holding Group continues to smash records and break moulds in the group’s ongoing march on the global automotive market.

August was no different. The group set yet another single-month sales record with 171 262 vehicles sold, a year-on-year increase of 20.8 per cent. This was also the second consecutive month in which sales exceeded 150 000 units.

But this wasn’t the only victory in Chery’s onslaught. Cumulative sales from January to August were 1,063,157 vehicles, a year-on-year, an increase of 42 per cent. This meant the Chery Group surpassed the one million mark for 2023, two months earlier than in the previous year.

Chery South Africa has played more than a small part in the success of Chery globally. The South African affiliate has found favour with local buyers thanks to its unmatched warranty, great customer service and included value-added products such as scratch and dent and rim repair.

In August, Chery South Africa sold 1 498 Tiggo Pro models. This is a jump of 13,5% over the same month last year, despite a general decline in sales for most vehicle brands.

Chery sold a record 20 000 units in less than 18 months in South Africa, making it a top 10 vehicle brand in the country and one of the best-selling manufacturers of SUVs. In fact, its Tiggo 4 Pro ranked first in its class, and first among SUV sales for several months in the past year-and-a-half.

Back on the global stage, the Chery brand was ranked first for product quality among Chinese brands according to the 2023 JD Powers China Initial Quality Study. Among the Chinese auto brands, the Chery brand sold 123 610 vehicles in August, a year-on-year increase of 15.5 per cent. From January to August, the sales volume was 773 333 vehicles, which is a year-on-year increase of 36.4 per cent.

The main drivers of the Chery Group’s sales growth were the Tiggo 8, Tiggo 7 and the Arrizo 8; in each case exceeding 10 000 units and contributing 21 369, 19 116 and 10 325 units respectively.

These three champions of the Chery Group ranked first in quality among compact sedans and compact SUVs in their respective market segments. The Arrizo 5 and the Tiggo 4 also ranked first in quality among compact sedans and compact SUVs in their respective market segments. This proves that the dizzying heights that Chery is reaching in the sales arena, are matched by the confidence-bolstering quality of their product offerings.

In JD Power’s Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study of China (APEAL), the Tiggo 7 Pro Max and the Tiggo 8 also ranked first in the two market segments of mid-sized economy SUVs and mid-sized SUVs respectively.

At the other end of the spectrum of achievements, Chery is also steadily advancing with its overseas expansion ambitions. In late February, Chery implemented a plan to invest US$400 million to build a factory in Argentina and is expected to achieve an annual output of 100 000 vehicles in Argentina by 2030.

In early July, Chery announced that it would set up factories in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. These three factories will be used to produce fuel vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEV). It also has 10 production bases in Brazil and Egypt, and six research and development centres.

It is clear that nothing will stop Chery from conquering the globe.

As the first Chinese auto company to export complete vehicles, completely knocked down (CKD) parts, engines and vehicle-manufacturing technology and equipment overseas, Chery’s products are sold in more than 80 countries and regions overseas, with a cumulative export of more than 1.7 million vehicles and more than 12 million users worldwide.