Chery’s first bakkie, the Grootman, is due in South African showrooms in early 2027. We got a brief, muddy taste of it at the brand’s home base in Wuhu, China. Here are our first impressions.
Let’s be clear from the outset: this is not a full review. My time behind the wheel of the Chery Grootman amounted to a short stint on a muddy, heavily rutted test track in Wuhu, the Chinese city Chery calls home. That’s nowhere near enough seat time to deliver a verdict on a vehicle this important. However, it was enough exposure to form early impressions of a bakkie that is poised to shake up the double-cab segment when it arrives in Mzansi.
Read more: Chery SA boss encourages other Chinese brands to invest
As a quick reminder, the Grootman (developed under the code name KP31) takes its local name from kasi slang that loosely translates to ‘big man’, but which also carries a sense of respect. Each market gets its own badge and the example I drove was in fact a Stockman, the name it will wear in Australia. Underneath, it’s the same vehicle.
And big it is. In the metal, the Grootman has real presence. It’s a large bakkie that looks wide and purposeful, and that impression carries over to the cabin, which feels genuinely spacious.
The numbers back that up. The Grootman is slightly bigger in most dimensions than Ford’s Ranger. Based on the specifications published for the Australian-market Stockman, it measures 5 450 mm long and 1 890 mm tall, which makes it 100 mm longer and a touch taller than the Ranger, at 5 350 mm and 1 886 mm respectively.
Read more: Supersize me! 5 longest double-cab bakkies in SA (2026)
The cabin is a highlight
If there’s one area where the Grootman made an immediate and lasting impression, it’s the interior. It’s very good indeed. Chery has struck a fine balance between a rugged, work-ready ambience and the modern tech that today’s double-cab buyers expect.
Thankfully, a good many of the controls are physical buttons and knobs rather than functions buried in sub-menus on a touchscreen. That’s exactly what you want when you’re bouncing along a farm road or wearing gloves. That said, there’s still a very big screen front and centre, and it’s loaded with features.
Practicality has clearly been given a lot of thought, too. There are numerous storage solutions dotted around the cabin, including a generous rubber-matted space beneath the transmission tunnel, as well as a large bin between the front seats.
Then there’s the build quality. The track surface was badly rutted, yet there wasn’t a single creak or rattle from the cabin, and the Grootman felt as firm and rigid as a good bakkie should. There’s also a satisfying heft and precision to the way the doors shut and the controls operate. It’s the kind of tactile solidity that signals quality before you’ve driven a metre.
What about the drivetrain?
The Grootman’s headline act is its diesel-electric hybrid powertrain, which pairs a 2.5-litre turbodiesel engine with electric assistance. Chery claims combined outputs of 350 kW and 800 Nm, an electric-only range of around 100 km, a towing capacity of up to 3.5 tonnes and 230 mm of ground clearance. There’s also vehicle-to-load functionality, so you can power camping gear or tools straight from the bakkie.
Those are big claims, and they’ll need to be verified in real-world testing on local roads. A short, slippery track simply wasn’t the place to judge a drivetrain this unusual. For what it’s worth, though, throttle response felt smooth and well calibrated, with none of the abruptness that can make low-speed, low-traction driving a chore.
Factory-fitted accessories
Two accessorised Grootman variants were also on display, and they highlighted how keen Chery is to push the customisation angle. The brand is taking a somewhat different approach to most, though: many of the accessories will be available to specify directly from the factory.
That’s convenient and the range of choice on offer is certainly wide. However, South African bakkie owners can be fiercely loyal to particular aftermarket accessory brands, so it will be interesting to see how well the factory-fit approach is received here.
Early verdict
It’s far too soon to say how the Chery Grootman will stack up against the established double-cab heavyweights. Key questions about real-world performance and efficiency, pricing and aftersales support remain unanswered. But on first acquaintance, it’s a big, solid and impressively finished bakkie with a standout interior. It’s a promising start.
When does the Chery Grootman go on sale in South Africa?
The Grootman is scheduled to arrive in local showrooms in the first quarter of 2027. Final pricing, model line-up and specifications will be confirmed closer to launch.
Significantly, the Grootman will eventually be manufactured in South Africa, at Chery’s plant in Rosslyn, Pretoria, which the company took over from Nissan. That makes it far more than just another imported newcomer, and it should strengthen Chery‘s hand in a segment where local production has long been a key part of the appeal.
Read more: Chery Group officially takes over Rosslyn factory
Hannes Oosthuizen
With the ultimate goal of spending his life writing about cars, Hannes studied journalism at the University of Stellenbosch. A brief stint as a sports editor for Paarl Post followed, before he joined CAR magazine in 2001. He eventually became the (youngest-ever) editor of CAR in 2011, a position he occupied for two years. During his career at CAR he became a member of the WCOTY (World Car of the Year) panel, wrote a book (Cranked Up: Confessions of a Petrolhead) and was named by the Mail & Guardian as one of the Top 200 South Africans to take to lunch in its 2008 Youth Day supplement, and by The Media magazine as one of the most influential media professionals under 40 (2012). He left CAR in 2013 to experience the \other\" side of the industry
