Chery range gets sweeter

Chinese carmaker has even bigger plans for lined up for South Arican market.

- Jaco van der Merwe

It's only taken Chery only three years since its return to South Africa to rank among the seven best-selling manufacturers.

The bad news for the top six is they are only getting started.

After the Chinese carmaker initially established an SUV line-up under the Chery marque with the Tiggo 4 Pro, Tiggo 7 Pro and Tiggo 8 Pro, it has been hard at work introducing three sub-brands, Omoda, Jaecoo and Jetour, over the last 18 months.

Now core Chery dealership floors are about to get a lot fuller with the introduction of the Tiggo Cross.

Next year the Chery Tiggo 9 Pro will be unveiled alongside a host of hybrid models before the arrival of the Chery Lepas SUV range.

And in the true sense of the infomercial pay-off line, but wait there's more...

Although no date has been set for its introduction, Chery plans to bring a bakkie too... and a hatchback most likely.

But back to the Chery Tiggo Cross for the moment, which was unveiled this month.

Effectively a replacement for the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro in other markets, the Cross will rather feature alongside the current Tiggo models locally, slotting in between the 4 and 7.

The two-model line-up consists of the Comfort and Elite derivatives.

Starting at a very attractive price of R399 900, we reckon the Chery Tiggo Cross might have real potential in ousting the Tiggo 4 Pro as the brand's best-seller.