Jaecoo Car Brand Launches in South Africa

Jaecoo is the latest car brand to launch across South Africa, with the first batch of the company’s J7 commercial vehicles having already arrived in the country.

The Jaecoo brand is actually a subsidiary of Chinese company Chery, who has also recently launched the Omoda vehicle brand in SA.

“We were overwhelmed by the interest in Omoda and Jaecoo, the two brands under Brand O&J. Both brands will be sold from one combined premises, but will each offer a completely unique value proposition, design philosophy and application,” says Tony Liu, Deputy General Manager of Omoda & Jaecoo South Africa.

At present, there are 32 showrooms across the country, which includes 14 flagship stores, such as the Omoda & Jaecoo Bryanston store and showroom in Cape Town.  

The current expansion plan will add 6 dealers in the coming weeks for a network of 40 dealers at the time of launch.

“There are a number of prime locations available to new investors and dealers looking to expand their offering to include Omoda & Jaecoo. Some of these locations are earmarked for flagship stores, which means that they will also include a range of additional services, such as scratch and dent repair and vehicle detailing,” says Liu.

Jaecoo will officially launch to the public in April and the vehicle can already be seen in Cape Town at the Table Bay Mall from the 26th of February until the 4th of March. This will be the first time that the Jaecoo J7 will be displayed to the South African public since its debut at last year’s Shanghai Auto Show in China.

The J7 is fitted with a 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that delivers 145 kW and 290 Nm of torque to all four wheels. Power is transferred to the AWD system through a modern 7-speed dual-clutch transmission with self-shifting capabilities. The 7DCT wet dual-clutch transmission, once honoured as one of the “Top Ten Transmissions Globally,” boasts a transmission efficiency of up to 98%, exceeding the average level of its class. With a shift response time of 0.2s, the J7 achieves smooth and seamless control across all speed ranges.

As has become the norm with the Omoda C5 and C5 GT, the Jaecoo J7 offers a comprehensive range of luxuries and standard features. This includes adaptive cruise control, dual-zone climate control, a fully digital cockpit with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a new intelligent camera array that not only shows the vehicle’s surroundings but uses artificial intelligence to remove the vehicle from the picture and show the ground beneath the vehicle – all based on an 8155 microchip.

Price and availability

South African pricing for the Jaecoo J7 is yet to be announced. The J7 will launch in April 2024.