Head of Chery SA Interview - New Cherys coming, how they came back and will Chery build cars in SA?

From humble beginnings, Chery is now a global player in the global automotive space, with over 88 000 employees and 10,000 people in R&D alone.
In this wide-ranging interview with Ciro De Siena and Tony Liu, the most senior figure in Chery South Africa, the two discuss Chery's past and future, how the company accelerated their R&D, the size of the company globally, bringing Jaecoo and Omoda to South Africa and companies return to South Africa as a proper subsidiary of Chery Global.
Chery had a difficult start in South Africa with a distributor who had no real affiliation to the brand and although the products were sold at an exceptionally low price point, the cars were inferior to what was available on the market at the time.
Fast forward just over a decade and Chery is now a top 10 brand in South Africa, offering vehicles that are a world apart from last offerings and vehicles that we at Cars.co.za rate very highly.
Ciro and Tony also discuss whether Chery will ever build cars in South Africa and the exciting arrival of the Tiggo 8 Pro PHEV plug-in hybrid, which has a truly exceptional claimed range.
Ciro also asks about Jaecoo pricing and while there are no details as yet available, Tony Liu does discuss where Jaecoo will fit into Chery's broader offering in South Africa.
0:00 - Intro
1:11 - Our new office
2:40 - Chery in South Africa
4:30 - History of Chery in SA
8:04 - Chery’s development progress
12:00 - Customer feedback
14:00 - Product changes
15:35 - Chery’s growth
17:00 - The bakkie market
21:10 - New energy strategy
27:00 - Development costs
29:40 - Job creation
37:00 - Hope for South Africa
39:00 - Omoda and Jaecoo
46:00 - Pricing
New Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Review - Is this really a premium SUV for Polo money?
• New Chery Tiggo 7 Pro ...
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[@stilloutside]

Chiro...ask Lu to bring us a Chery hatchback under 350k panoroof,agressive body lines n same Chery quality interior ❤❤❤ theyd sell like hot cakes polo's are too expensive

[@TD1237]

That's true, it would satisfy that niche nicely, and we know it'll be good quality coming from Chery.

[@spy2sa54]

Oh yea definitely bro😢

[@keenancooper9071]

Highly agree with you but would rather still buy a Polo as it’s a very tried and tested product

[@TheALPHAMALE5028]

I have been saying the same many times and i hope the message will be delivered and cation taken. I asked cherry SA to test the market with hot hatch with that 187kw engine in tiggo 8 pro max. imagine 187kW of power and 390Nm of torque in a hatchback with reasonable price in our market will sell faster than ridiculously expensive Golf GTI and I30N. I really hope cherry take this into consideration

[@karabo5350]

Guys they do have it, it is called Cherry Tiggo 2, i saw it over the weekend on KZbin currently being reviewed at Russia. It is an affordable premium hatchback in a segment that rivals Polo's etc.

[@leratomotsumi7090]

I thought Ciro left us again and rode into the sunset in the Subaru. But this is what we need. Feed the streets more often with your content✊

[@michaeldelport8002]

Awesome interview, properly conducted. Cant wait to see the bakkie. The J7 is beautiful vehicle. Blend of a few vehicles all in one. What a future for Chery in South Africa, Thanx Ciro

[@etienne6641]

I have seen the Jaecoo J9 in China. It will sell like hot cakes here in SA. Large and luxurious. Really a smart car. Great interview! Lot's of news and future plans came out of this. Nice to hear it first hand.

[@clementstevens1541]

Im currently looking at the Tiggo 7 Pro and this episode came out the right time to help me cement that decision. Thanks guys

[@TD1237]

Best car channel on KZbin. Love these interviews. 😊

[@rodneyemmerich8828]

Absolutely

[@salimhanware]

Excellent interview Cairo.Proud to have you as part of the Sainsbury exotics family❤️

[@waynebowker7764]

All the best for your new offices 🏢 and all the best to Chery as well owned a tiggo 4 now own a Omoda great cars 🚗

[@tebogomashigo3685]

Thank you for the interview. Stellar interview.

[@deancrawford2577]

The astonishing amount of progress Chery has achieved in the last 20 years, they have put a huge percentage of profits back into R&D and it shows. The Tiggo is definitely a testiment to this.

[@nyikomthombeni8354]

Thanks Chiro- very good interview!

[@user-cp6lc8lo3b]

Great content ❤❤❤❤

[@Mothercityguy]

Awesome interview Chery have awesome SUVs now.

[@alfredharris2725]

Can't wait to hear your opinion on the J7

[@mindfreeze0838]

Lovely interview Ciro, I found Chery's perspective and position in the market very informative. I am impressed at their turn around time for customer feedback(6 months, but what should you expect when you have 10k engineers). Theyre a power player that map out their strategic and tactical plans meticulously and its data driven. Im not sure im sold with the Santa Cruz esque bakkie, i dont see those around(most persons with Hyundais have Sonata's or Elantra's)also the tub on those things is ridiculously small, you cant pack for a family of 3 or more in that thing unless theyre putting their stuff in small backpacks. The only vehicle in that class that makes any practical sense is a VW Saveiro which isnt in the market, yeah its a 2 seater but it has a decent tub for the size, which really is the most important thing for that class of car.

[@sfjvariety582]

I actually believe that the bakkie that Chery is working on will likely be the same size as maybe say Hilux/Ranger but will be using a uni body frame and chassis instead of ladder frame... Kinda like the 1stGen VW Amarok 👀

[@Asdasty]

At the end he said J Cole, not James Bond.

[@SDav21]

Chery is my favourite brand right now. The Tiggo 8 is just something else. The cherry (wink lol) on the cake would be a nice diesel engine in their SUVs.

[@sfjvariety582]

Hmm it's quite unlikely that a passenger car oriented brand such as Chery would consider spending rnd costs into manufacturing diesel engines. They are also still majorly influenced by their home market trends in China. Currently China's preference is Electric Powertrains, hybrids and small displacement petrol engines. I honestly don't expect to see a diesel in their lineup anytime soon especially with the presence of hybrids which are just as efficient. 😅

[@SDav21]

@@sfjvariety582 True. But diesel makes so much more sense in SUVs and Bakkies. They pull better, tow better and use less fuel.

[@brandonstclair898]

Customer service are not yet on the standard of Hyundai from a car service point of view. But not bad also.

[@StevenJohnson-jv1iw]

I was excited until i looked at the hello peter reviews now I am worried. Abysmal, dealer service, Parts taking several months! Please put my mind at ease the cherry pro 4 looks like a great solution for our family

[@kostap6555]

Chery will be a big player in SA...already pulling big numbers.. quality safe and affordable vehicles .. bring on Jaecoo and see the sales soar

[@shaunnkabinde1416]

When are we getting a Tiggo 4 facelift?. Tiggo 7 and 8 have had upgrades but the 4 is still pretty much the same as when it was release 3 years ago.

[@ronewasikhathi8794]

Great interview. But will they should bring small cars with class. Polo and polo vivo need competition from cherry

[@IsaacGbornor_gv]

Jaecoo J7 must be done in EV 🚗 it will amazing 👍 Mr TONY PLEASE COME AND OPEN A SHOW ROOM GHANA ACCRA WE WILL SELL MANY JAECOO ,JETOUR TRAVELER ,AND OMADA E5 .AND ICAR 03,AND EQ3 EV 🚗

[@SDav21]

People buy bakkies and never even take them off road or use it for hard work. Some people use it as a leisure vehicle. A unibody leisure bakkie would be perfect but south Africans being south Africans will be so stubborn to see this. Most people who buy double cab Hiluxes and Ford Rangers take it at most on a gravel road and tow a caravan. For those using their bakkies as a workhorse, buy the ladder on frame stuff then. But for the rest, and what I think are most people, a unibody bakkie would be great and probably have a better ride with the ability to do more when it is unibody like adding pass throughs and extra compartments below the bed like the Honda Ridgeline bakkie (which we never got here).

[@sfjvariety582]

Yess this is a great idea indeed! I mean the np200 was a unibody bakkie and it still succeeded! So I don't see a reason as to why the chery bakkie wouldn't be able to succeed unless of course the size of the said bakkie compares to that of a Hilux/Ranger... Then people might become sceptical of its capabilities! But knowing Chery Holdings SA. They have amazing marketing and they'll still somehow find a way to sell the bakkie like hotcakes despite the "cons" 😂😂

[@SDav21]

@@sfjvariety582 Yes I'm talking about the large bakkies. Most don't even use them for what they were made for. But south Africans being south Africans will still criticise it even if it's good and will serve the purpose.

[@user-rj8wl2eg6f]

Is the Chery Arrizo 8 coming to SA???

[@hantusmostert]

J-Bakkie (4wheel drive all the time with three diff-locks, ladder-frame chassis)

[@bradmallett8698]

Awaiting Jeacoo J7 review please ?

[@thabosonjani9103]

@Chery Is the Tiggo Pro 9 Coming to SA?\

[@sfjvariety582]

I believe so but I think it will be called the Jaecoo J8? 😅

[@MrStebenmar]

Bro, align the sign and table

[@walterkhumbuza2974]

When are we having tiggo 8 pro max hybrid?

[@stilloutside]

The bakkie should have sunroof please😢 at least option

[@liyabonangcizela2086]

What is Cherry thinking about the hatchback? The market is not that much populated... Van's will not be a great idea looking at how people view the X-class and the P-series

[@SphakamisoDaProposal]

Please also improve on Fuel efficiency

[@brandonstclair898]

Fuel efficiency?

[@mazibukomail]

Good question.

[@liyabonangcizela2086]

they must also stop producing cars for 'gravel roads', we need proper off roaders because roads in EC/KZN are not the typical gravel roads.

[@StevenJohnson-jv1iw]

23 Reviews ***** 2 Reviews **** 0 Review *** 52 Reviews ** 119 Reviews * Above is a copy of the Hello Peter ratings on Cherry. Please comment. I am worried!

[@emmo2850]

Oh nice, need more landfill space. Watch this for reliable longevity.

[@Isexwayiso]

I know it sounds weird but it would be nice if one can influence some of these products. I am very much interested in the small Bakkie something say around the 300k mark. Something like a Renault Oroch. I have already bought a Tiggo Pro 4, the chassis for it and the built quality is well sorted. I would like something like that but with a spirit of t Jimny by design bar the ladder chassis