Chery opened its manufacturing facility in Rosslyn, Pretoria on Friday.
This comes after an announcement in January that Nissan and Chery had reached an agreement over the acquisition of Nissan South Africa’s manufacturing assets.
The opening of the Chery Rosslyn plant represents a crucial leap for Chery — from an importer to a manufacturer in South Africa — after legacy brands and the department of trade and industry called for increased tariffs on imported vehicles at the beginning of the year.
Chery reiterated the brand’s commitment to the country.
“At Chery, we live by one philosophy: ‘In Somewhere, For Somewhere, Be Somewhere.’ It means ‘wherever we invest, we commit’,” said Chery Automobile Co Ltd chairperson Yin Tongyue at the plant launch ceremony.
“We become part of the local economy, part of the community, part of the country’s future. Today proves that commitment.
“We have moved from being an importer to a manufacturer — and from a market participant to a long-term partner in South Africa's industrial story.”
This means the brands under the Chery umbrella — Jetour, Lepas, Omoda, Jaecoo and iCAUR — will be produced in the country.
At the Beijing Auto Show in April, Jetour president Ke Chuandeng announced that the popular Jetour T-Series would be produced locally from 2027.
Omoda & Jaecoo South Africa has confirmed that the JAECOO J5 will also form part of the core production line-up at Chery Group’s first South African manufacturing plant, following the official groundbreaking of the facility.
Chery will invest in upgrading the plant’s facilities and utilities, with the initial production expected to commence in the middle of 2027. During the ramp-up period (Q3 & Q4 2027), the planned production total is 15 000 units.
By mid-2027, Chery aims to produce 50 000 units annually and create more than 3 000 jobs across manufacturing and supply chain sectors. At the launch, the brand also announced that all 692 employees would be retained.
Chery is hopeful that the new manufacturing plant positions the brand for long-term sustainable growth, with an ambition to exceed 100 000 annual vehicle sales in the South African market.
Chery sold more than 25 000 units in 2025 and was ranked eighth in new vehicle sales in South Africa.
It posted a healthy 26.7% year-on-year increase in sales and grew its market share to 4.2% in 2025. The figures exclude sales from brands such as Omoda and Jetour that fall under the group.
Omoda alone has sold more than 20 000 units since making its local debut in 2023.
The brand announced that taking this as a new starting point, Chery would deepen China-Africa economic and trade ties through high-quality capacity cooperation, striving to set a new benchmark for mutually beneficial international industrial cooperation.