If you haven’t yet had your fill of Chinese EV brands, you’re in luck. Chery Group, responsible for all those Chery, Omoda, and Jaecoo vehicles crawling the streets recently, has added a new brand under its belt, iCaur. The company confirmed yesterday that its first EV models will go on sale in the first quarter of 2026.
Apple would like a word…
The Chinese company, formerly known as iCar but changed due to copyright ownership according to The Citizen (but still pronounced “iCar”), will make its first local appearance at this year’s Festival of Motoring in August, cementing it as the 15th Chinese vehicle manufacturer to enter South Africa, joining the likes of BYD and Dayun.
“iCAUR brings a new energy to the market, combining striking design with advanced EV technology and a playful, user-centric spirit. We’re here to make electric motoring more personal, more joyful and, importantly, more accessible,” said Shannon Gahagan, national brand and marketing manager at iCaur South Africa.
iCaur is relatively new to the EV game, having only established itself in China as of 2023, before quickly expanding to India and Malaysia.
It’s not yet clear which of the brand’s EVs will turn up in South Africa first, though judging by the images supplied with the announcement, the iCaur V23 will be one of ’em. A rather boxy and aggressively orange but still compact SUV EV, which supposedly underlines iCaur’s four ‘global pillars’, including an “emotional” and “playful” design.
Read More: Chery takes SA’s affordable hybrid SUV crown with the Tiggo Cross CSH
According to The Citizen, SA will also see the iCaur 03 turn up locally, despite Chery’s initial plan to sell the vehicle under the Jaecoo umbrella as the J6. Chery even went as far as providing pre-production models to members of motoring media under the Jaecoo J6 moniker, before ultimately deciding to make the change at the beginning of this year.
By the time iCaur is ready to launch in the first quarter of 2026, the brand hopes to have as many as 15 dealerships scattered around “key metropolitan hubs”. The brand is in the process of finalising its retail network, with plans to reveal key details, including models, their specs, and hopefully pricing, closer to the launch.
