Chinese car maker Chery will add two new brands to its South African portfolio this year – the electric iCAUR range and the Lepas sports-utility vehicle (SUV) line-up.

This will take the group’s tally of brands to five under the Chery group umbrella – Omoda, iCAUR, Chery, Jaecoo and Lepas.

These brands all share back-office functions, such as human resources and finances, but have their own dedicated sales, after-sales and marketing teams. Showrooms are also separate.

Jetour is a separate entity and does not fall under Chery group South Africa.

Electric brand iCAUR will launch in South Africa with an initial network of 20 dealerships, with further expansion planned as/if demand and market opportunities evolve over the next 12 to 24 months.

These dealerships promise to have a new flavour, though. Rather than traditional sales points, iCAUR says its showrooms will incorporate lifestyle elements linked to customer interests, such as camping, running, fishing, rock climbing and gaming.

iCAUR will launch with the V23 and 03T in May, with the 03T REEV (range-extended electric vehicle) expected towards the end of the year.

All current iCAURs are SUVs, with the retro-styling on the smaller V23 likely to attract a lot of attention.

Both the V23 and the 03T deliver up to 500 km of all-electric range, and also offer all-wheel-drive capability.

The 03T REEV uses a petrol engine as a generator to power the electric battery – rather than directly powering the wheels – providing a claimed range of more than 1 000 km – this according to iCAUR.

The Lepas brand will launch in the first quarter of the year with a new compact SUV called the L4, as the gateway into the brand.

The vehicle should be powered by a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, with hybrid options also expected.

Later in the year, the L4 will be joined by range flagship, the Lepas L8.

All of Chery’s brands have already made quite an impression on the local market, with Chery vehicle sales (which includes the Tiggo range) for December at number seven in the market, at 2 249 units, and Omoda and Jaecoo at number 11, at 1 317 units.

Jetour came in at number ten, at 1 371 units.

Chery this month also indicated that it will become the new owner of the Nissan plant in Rosslyn, Tshwane.