Chery to build new ute in former Nissan Navara factory
The South African counterpart to Australia’s Chery Stockman will roll down the same production lines as the Nissan Navara.
Chinese car giant Chery will start selling the Australian-named Stockman in local showrooms from the first quarter of next year, and now it’s revealed a South African version of the ute will carry a different name.
The Chery Grootman is set to launch in South Africa in 2027, sharing the same basis as the Stockman which will be sold in Australia, but with a distinct local name.
After the Australian public got to choose the Stockman’s name following a national search, South Africans got to do the same, with Chery settling on the ‘Grootman’ moniker, an Afrikaans colloquialism for “big man” – meant in an endearing way.
While Australia’s Stockman will be built in China, the Grootman will be built in South Africa for South Africa, after Chery took over a former Nissan plant earlier this year.
In January, it was announced Chery would purchase Nissan’s factory in Rosslyn, as well as a nearby stamping plant, with a “majority of associated Nissan employees to be offered employment by Chery”.
The Rosslyn plant was most recently home to production of the Navara ute – or bakkie in South Africa – up until the end of the D23-generation model.
Last year, Nissan’s South African division announced a joint collaboration with Australian firm Premcar to introduce the Navara Pro-4X Warrior in the market, resulting in Premcar SA – a joint venture with AIH – modifying the ute at the Rosslyn factory.
It appears this joint venture was short-lived, given the short time the D23 Navara remained in production, as well as Nissan selling the factory earlier this year.
Like Australia’s Stockman, the Grootman will be powered by a turbo-diesel plug-in hybrid powertrain, capable of producing up to 350kW and 800Nm, with a claimed electric-only driving range of 100km on the lenient NEDC cycle.
Other Chery products are also slated to be built at the Rosslyn plant, such as the Chery Tiggo Cross, Jaecoo J5 and Jetour T Series.
Jordan Mulach
