Chana vehicles for Auto Africa
The new Chinese offerings will be available from October 1 2006 and can be viewed at this year’s Auto Africa Exhibition.
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Chris Buchanan
Posted: Thu, 21 Sep 2006 06:00 | © Moneyweb Holdings Limited, 1997-2006
At R64 900 for the 1000cc single cab pick-up and R74 900 for the 1300cc model, the Chana Star finds itself at the most competitive end of the small commercial vehicle market.
This is the first of the Chinese imported vehicles to land in South Africa and the public will be able to view a range of Chana vehicles at the Auto Africa exhibition at Nasrec from October 27 to November 5.
The Star has a load capacity of 800kg with drop sides and will be followed by a double cab, club cab and panel van.
Christo Kruger of the Autohaus Gobel Group says initial volumes will be pegged at 300 units per month, up to 600 units per month as the range evolves. Moneyweb has also learned that McCarthy Holdings and Imperial Holdings are planning to import small commercial vehicles which begs the question of capacity in that market sector.
Kruger says the range is aimed at the small entrepreneurial business such as small building operations, landscapers, couriers and small fleet operators.
Chana South Africa intends to roll out 13 dealerships in the main centres across the country. “We want to make sure these vehicles spend little or no time off the road so we are focussing on after sales service”, says Kruger.
The next offering from Chana, due in the third quarter of 2007, is the CM8 small MPV which enters into the highly competitive compact market. The cheapest vehicle currently in that segment is the Chevrolet Spark 800cc at R62 000.
Dr Martyn Davies, CEO of Emerging Market Focus says the advantages of these new offerings at the bottom end of the market is that they’re new technology as opposed to some older platform vehicles that offer 1970s and 80s technology for the same price or more.
The CM8 will be available in two engine variants, a 1300cc and a 1600cc, both with a high safety specification.
Manny de Canha, CE of Associated Motor Holdings, a subsidiary of Imperial Holdings says 90% of Chinese cars are made under licence so only 10% are available for export. De Canha says a large proportion of these are general spec cars with very little safety considerations. “South Africa’s safety and emissions requirements through the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) are almost as high as Europe’s”, says de Canha.
He says these requirements mean that Imperial is not rushing into the market with general spec cars and that the marques intended for import will need thorough evaluation before being brought onto the market.
CEO of McCarthy Holdings, Brand Pretorius shares this sentiment and told Moneyweb that McCarthy is in the process of intense testing and quality control on the vehicles it intends to import from China.
The new Chinese offerings will be available from October 1 2006 and can be viewed at this year’s Auto Africa Exhibition.
Chris Buchanan
Posted: Thu, 21 Sep 2006 06:00 | © Moneyweb Holdings Limited, 1997-2006
At R64 900 for the 1000cc single cab pick-up and R74 900 for the 1300cc model, the Chana Star finds itself at the most competitive end of the small commercial vehicle market.
This is the first of the Chinese imported vehicles to land in South Africa and the public will be able to view a range of Chana vehicles at the Auto Africa exhibition at Nasrec from October 27 to November 5.
The Star has a load capacity of 800kg with drop sides and will be followed by a double cab, club cab and panel van.
Christo Kruger of the Autohaus Gobel Group says initial volumes will be pegged at 300 units per month, up to 600 units per month as the range evolves. Moneyweb has also learned that McCarthy Holdings and Imperial Holdings are planning to import small commercial vehicles which begs the question of capacity in that market sector.
Kruger says the range is aimed at the small entrepreneurial business such as small building operations, landscapers, couriers and small fleet operators.
Chana South Africa intends to roll out 13 dealerships in the main centres across the country. “We want to make sure these vehicles spend little or no time off the road so we are focussing on after sales service”, says Kruger.
The next offering from Chana, due in the third quarter of 2007, is the CM8 small MPV which enters into the highly competitive compact market. The cheapest vehicle currently in that segment is the Chevrolet Spark 800cc at R62 000.
Dr Martyn Davies, CEO of Emerging Market Focus says the advantages of these new offerings at the bottom end of the market is that they’re new technology as opposed to some older platform vehicles that offer 1970s and 80s technology for the same price or more.
The CM8 will be available in two engine variants, a 1300cc and a 1600cc, both with a high safety specification.
Manny de Canha, CE of Associated Motor Holdings, a subsidiary of Imperial Holdings says 90% of Chinese cars are made under licence so only 10% are available for export. De Canha says a large proportion of these are general spec cars with very little safety considerations. “South Africa’s safety and emissions requirements through the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) are almost as high as Europe’s”, says de Canha.
He says these requirements mean that Imperial is not rushing into the market with general spec cars and that the marques intended for import will need thorough evaluation before being brought onto the market.
CEO of McCarthy Holdings, Brand Pretorius shares this sentiment and told Moneyweb that McCarthy is in the process of intense testing and quality control on the vehicles it intends to import from China.
