The new J2 five-door hatchback carries a big responsibility on its shoulders. It has to be a game-changer for Chery South Africa (SA), which last year saw sales contract by 8%, as opposed to the 3% growth originally expected.

South Africa is the first right-hand-drive market to receive this model from China.

Chery SA believes the new J2 will become its volume seller at 100 to 200 units a month, propelling it to 8% growth this year and returning the importer to 2011 sales levels.

MD Brett Soso regards 2012 as a “disappointing year” for Chery SA, but says the company has made some model adjustments and hopes to improve its market share in 2013. “We sat down, did a study and worked out how we are going to improve our sales.”

Dealer numbers have already improved in recent months from 3 to 36, with the goal to round off the network at 40.

Chery SA, established in 2008, is a joint venture between the Imperial and Bidvest groups. Soso says the importer is committed to continue operations in South Africa, as the shareholders see Chery as “a future global brand”.

However, in order to grow in the shorter term, the brand requires a more continuous update of its model line-up to ensure it continues stimulating consumer interest, he adds.

The company launched in South Africa with three products, including the QQ3 and the Tiggo, in 2008, adding only the J1 and J3 in recent years. The QQ3 and the Tiggo have not been updated in any significant way since their introduction.

However, the QQ3 will soon see some specification changes, with the Tiggo due for a facelift in 2014.

“These are the things we must do. We must make sure we refresh our models,” says Soso. “We made some mistakes. We stagnated. We had the same cars from 2008 to 2013, and consumers want change. There is so much choice out there. If we keep this in mind, we can grow the brand.”

He adds that it is often difficult to secure right-hand-drive models from the Chery plants, located in left-hand-drive China.

Chery itself is motivated to achieve more in the global car market and has been on a global recruitment drive this year, appointing people from a number of other vehicle manufacturers, such as Porsche, BMW and Ford.

In July, it also rolled out the first model, the Arrizo, of what is to be a new design language for the Chinese brand.

Chery Overseas Investment Corporation MD Moe Wang says Chery hopes to export 50% of its production volume over the next few years.

Current production volume at Chery is 600 000 units a year, with 180 000 units exported.

South Africa is one of Chery’s three biggest right-hand-drive markets.

The J2
The South African new passenger car market is expected to grow by 7.1% in 2013 over 2012, reaching 475 000 units. Around 43% of current passenger car sales is in the A-segment, or, generally speaking, the smaller, more affordable segment of the market. The B-segment, consisting of larger, somewhat more expensive cars, makes up 22% of new car sales.

The 1.5 ℓ J2 will compete in the “AB segment of the market”, says Soso.

“In size, the J2 competes against established, popular models such as the Hyundai i20, VW Polo, Ford Fiesta and Toyota Yaris, to name a few, but from a pricing perspective significantly undercuts these competitors. This value- for-money price positioning puts the J2 squarely up against smaller A-segment cars, such as the VW Polo Vivo, the Ford Figo and the Toyota Etios.

There is a big task ahead of us to take a Chinese brand into this market.”

Chery has priced the J2 at R129 900.

“We are, of course, delighted with the recent announcement of a factory-backed warranty covering the new J2 hatchback model for five years, or 120 000 km, which will be a further boost to our brand-building efforts locally,” adds Soso.

The J2 also comes with a two-year/30 000 km service plan.

“In built quality, fit and finish, it is a nicely put-together car,” says Soso.

The J2’s petrol power train delivers 140 Nm of torque at 4 500 rpm and has a power rating of 72 kW at 6 000 rpm.

Fuel consumption is 7.4 ℓ/100 km.

Standard equipment on the one model available includes antilock braking with electronic brake-force distribution, follow- me-home lights, front-dual airbags, power steering, electric mirrors, remote central locking, alarm, air conditioning, electric windows and CD front loader and USB.