The floodgates are open, not only on the sales front with an increased number of Chinese brands finding favour with South African car buyers, but also in terms of their presence in the country's most prestigious motoring accolade.
Consequently, Chinese vehicles will in all probability have the largest presence yet in the South African Guild of Mobility Journalists' (SAGMJ) annual Car of the Year (COTY) competition.
This competition, the oldest of its kind in the country, is currently underway with members voting for who they think deserves to be among the finalists. Each member has 25 votes to select finalists from a list of 40 new models that have been launched locally this year.
There won't necessarily be 25 finalists, as the percentage difference between all entries is considered when announcing the top competitors for the title, which will be selected by an elected jury from the Guild's membership.
The selection list consists of 40 vehicles, of which 27 are Chinese – the most yet in this round of voting in the competition. The balance comes from Germany, Korea, Japan, the USA and India.
This begs the question: will enough Chinese-manufactured cars make it to the final round, and will any of them be good enough to lift the title as overall winner, currently held by the locally built BMW X3?
Looking at the numbers in this round of voting, there will, in all likelihood, be a strong Chinese presence among the finalists.
The Chinese brands and model ranges eligible for the 2025/2026 COTY title include the likes of the BAIC B30, BYD Dolphin Surf, BYD Sealion 5, BYD Sealion 6, BYD Sealion 7, BYD Shark, Changan Alsvin, Changan CS75 Pro, Changan Deepal S07, Changan Hunter, Chery Tiggo 7 PHEV, Chery Tiggo 9, Geely E5, Geely E5 EM-1, GWM Haval H7, Jaecoo J5, Jetour T1, Jetour T2, LDV Auto D90, LDV Auto Terron 9, Leapmotor C10 REEV, MG Cyberster, MG HS, MG MG3, MG ZS, MG ZS Pro and the Omoda C7.
In November this year, sales of new Chinese passenger vehicles represented around 15% of total sales according to some industry figures. Chery's Tiggo 4 was number three on the passenger car best-selling list.
The November sales charts indicate that Chinese brands like the Chery Tiggo 4 and the Haval Jolion on their own sold close to 2,000 and just over 1,000 units respectively. A number of other models like the Omoda C5, Jetour T2 and Chery Tiggo 7 sold hundreds of new vehicles, whilst other Chinese manufacturers have also been gaining momentum with increased sales volumes.
For the 2024/2025 title, four models from Chinese manufacturers made the final list of 17 vehicles. The specific finalists were the GAC GS3 Emzoom, GWM P500 HEV, Jaecoo J7 and the Omoda C9. In the 2023/2024 competition, only two Chinese brands made the final cut – the GWM Ora 03 and the Omoda C5.
It's important to remember that we will only know early in the new year who the finalists for the 2025/2026 round of the competition will be.
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