By Otsile Kadiege

Over the past few years, the SUV market in South Africa has proven to be quite a lucrative segment for automotive manufacturers as a bulk of new passenger vehicle sales in Mzansi are from SUVs. In a bid to get a share of the market, established and new Chinese automakers have swamped the automotive market with a plethora of enticing SUVs. Enter Jetour, a Chery-owned marque which was established back in 2018 and specializes in crossovers and SUVs.

Jetour models coming to South Africa

Jetour will be entering the market with two models – the X70 Plus and Dashing models. The X70 Plus is a stunning mid-size crossover SUV with a premium-looking interior which is littered with many modern amenities like an integrated digital instrument cluster and media display, ambient lighting, panoramic sunroof, a dual tone colour scheme and a separate screen for the climate control to list a few.

In China, the X70 Plus is powered by two engines – a 1.5- and 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engines. The 1.5-litre engine develops 115 kW at 5 500 rpm and 230 Nm between 1 750 – 4 000 rpm. It’s either paired with a 6-speed manual transmission or a 6-speed DCT gearbox. The 1.6-litre mill is a Chery sourced engine which develops the same power and torque as the entry-level Tiggo 8 Pro – 145 kW at 5 500 rpm and 290 Nm between 1 750 – 4 000 rpm. This model will be launched in September 2024.

The X70 Plus will be followed by the Dashing which indeed looks ‘dashing’ thanks to a daring and modern design. Inside, the Dashing has a modern and luxurious-looking interior with groundbreaking technology and a range of the latest advanced driver assistance systems. Like its X70 Plus stablemate, the Dashing is also powered by the same powerplants paired with the same transmissions, and develops the same power and torque figures.

Jetour SA is hoping to launch the new T2 model next year or whenever right-hand drive models are available. The T2 is an Defender-like off-roader which is said to be successful in markets like China and the Middle-East.

Jetour parts warehouse

Before the launch of the above mentioned models, Jetour South Africa has opened up a 4 000 square meter parts distribution warehouse which currently houses 80 000 parts. Being a Chery-owned brand that shares some components like engines and some technologies, we wonder if one will be able to source, say, an engine part from Chery South Africa’s warehouse should a particular part be unavailable.

That said, we look forward to the launch of the X70 range this September. Stay tuned to our website for more information and launch drive impressions.