Jaecoo touches down in SA

Jaecoo, the latest Chinese car marque to reach these shores, has announced that the first batch of its J7 commercial vehicles have arrived in South Africa.

Jaecoo has joined forces with sister brand Omoda to make its debut and has kick started its launch season with a jointly hosted investment conference for dealers and investors in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

The brand presented the Jaecoo products and its offering to South African automotive dealers, as well as a glimpse into the future of this brand, with a design and engineering philosophy shared by Jaecoo and Omoda.

Tony Liu, deputy general manager of Omoda & Jaecoo South Africa, said: “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.”

At present there are 32 showrooms across the country that offer Omoda and Jaecoo sales, service, support and maintenance services. The stores includes 14 flagship stores. Current expansion plan will add 6 dealers in the coming weeks for a network of 40 dealers at the time of launch in April.

Jaecoo & Omoda provided the folloiwing information on the new J7:

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 a 8155 microchip.