South Africa’s top Chinese car brand launches most affordable hybrids

South Africa’s most popular Chinese car brand by sales, Chery, has launched the most affordable plug-in and traditional hybrid vehicles available in the country.

The automotive company sold 1,995 new vehicles in May this year, according to sales data from the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa).

This makes it the sixth most popular brand amongst South African consumers and the most popular one from China.

Only Toyota, Suzuki, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and Ford sold more vehicles last month, with Toyota topping the charts at 9,969 sales.

While Toyota is currently also dominating South Africa’s hybrid electric vehicle market, Chery has taken aim at the Japanese giant by launching the most affordable plug-in hybrid and traditional hybrid on the market.

In late June, Chery released the Tiggo Cross Chery Super Hybrid (CSH), the automaker’s first hybrid model to be sold in the South African market.

The traditional hybrid electric vehicle is available in two specifications based on Chery’s existing Comfort and Elite trim levels, with prices starting from R439,900.

This makes it more than R50,000 cheaper than the most affordable Toyota Corolla Cross, which retails at R494,400.

That same week, Chery launched the Tiggo 7 CSH, a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) capable of full electric driving.

Starting at R619,900, it undercuts the BYD Sealion 6 by R20,000, which was previously the most affordable PHEV after being launched two months ago.

The primary difference between a PHEV and HEV is how the car’s battery is charged and how much the battery can contribute to driving the vehicle.

While traditional electric vehicles (EVs) solely use battery-powered electric motors, HEVs offer drivers the best of both worlds, combining an internal combustion engine (ICE) and battery-powered electric motors.

The electric motor can drive the car and run in reverse to regenerate electricity and charge its battery without an external source.

The car can then determine which power source is more efficient for the current conditions, either switching between motors or using the electric motor to supplement the fuel-powered one.

HEVs like the Tiggo Cross CSH do not need to be charged from an external source and generate energy from the ICE and regenerative braking.

On the other hand, PHEVs, such as the Tiggo, allow users to charge from an external power supply and are more expensive than traditional HEVs.

Hybrid boom in South Africa

HEV sales have skyrocketed in recent years, with units sold increasing by more than 5,000% between 2015 and 2024.

According to Naamsa sales data, 13,604 HEVs were sold in South Africa in 2024, compared to 266 in 2015.

The Corolla Cross was a major contributor to total HEV sales in 2024, comprising nearly 75% of all sales in the segment, according to Cars.co.za.

However, notable sales growth within this segment has only been realised in the past few years. Yearly HEV sales did not surpass 300 until 2021, when 627 were sold.

This increased to 4,050 by 2022, and then to 6,495 by 2023. Between 2015 and the start of 2021, 24,776 HEVs were sold. By the end of 2024, this number had increased to 25,828 HEVs.

In comparison, traditional EV sales have increased by 947% since 2015, with 1,257 units sold in 2024. However, this number excludes BYD’s sales as it does not report sales to Naamsa.

This adds up to 15,589 new energy vehicles sold last year. While this number is a significant increase from recent years, it represented just over 3% of South Africa’s passenger vehicle market in 2024 — 515,853.

Chery Tiggo Cross CSH

Chery Tiggo 7 CSH