We’ve unearthed trademark applications that suggest yet another Chinese brand could be on the cards for South Africa. Here’s what we know about Kaiyi Auto…
Cars.co.za has discovered fresh trademark applications that suggest Kaiyi Auto – a Chinese automaker said to specialise in comparatively low-cost vehicles – could be considering an entry to South Africa’s automotive market.
Founded in 2014, Kaiyi Auto was originally known as Cowin Auto. Initially, the company was a wholly owned subsidiary of automotive giant Chery, though the latter has since reduced its stake to 18%, with the Chinese city of Yibin’s municipal government now listed as the majority shareholder.
On 2 January 2025, Yibin Kaiyi Automobile Company Limited applied to trademark the “Kaiyi” logo in South Africa. At the same time, the Chinese firm filed to protect the “Kaiyi e-Qute” badge. This comes after Kaiyi Auto unveiled what it described as new “international” versions of 3 models at the World Power Battery Conference in Yibin, Sichuan Province, in September 2024.
These products were the Kaiyi e-Qute 02, Kaiyi X3 Pro EV and Kaiyi X7 iHD, all shown off at the event in right-hand-drive form. The X3 Pro EV was furthermore displayed in right-hand-drive market Zambia just a few days later.
Thus far, Kaiyi Auto has applied to trademark only the “e-Qute” badge locally, with no sign yet of the other two nameplates mentioned above (still, we suspect such applications would be refused on the basis of being too similar to BMW’s X3 and X7 trademarks).
Available in overseas markets in both e-Qute 02 (with 2 doors) and e-Qute 04 (featuring 4 doors and a longer wheelbase) guise, this model is a fully electric city car. The e-Qute 02 – seemingly based on the “Shiyue” offered in China – measures just 3 345 mm long, making it a considerable 350 mm shorter from nose to tail than the Dayun S5, which is currently Mzansi’s most affordable electric vehicle at R399 900.
Equipped with a 28 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery pack, the diminutive e-Qute 02 has a claimed range somewhere in the region of 300 km. The electric motor sited on the front axle generates peak outputs of 40 kW and 110 Nm.
What about the other 2 models? Well, the Kaiyi X7 iHD is a plug-in hybrid mid-size crossover ostensibly based on the Chinese-market “Kunlun” and measuring 4 738 mm long, while the Kaiyi X3 Pro EV is a 4 443 mm-long fully electric compact crossover seemingly derived from the Chinese-spec “Xuanjie”.
For the record, the Kaiyi brand has already entered more than 30 markets outside of China, including African nations such as Madagascar, Angola, Senegal and Ethiopia. The brand furthermore has a presence in South America (in Chile, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Venezuela, for instance) as well as the Middle East.
Of course, as we always point out in such instances, trademark applications are by no means a guarantee the automaker will use the badges in question – or, in this case, even enter the market at all. But these fresh filings are an indication that Kaiyi Auto is at least considering expanding into South Africa. More info as we have it…
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