I'll tip my hat to Chery in this whole endeavour. I was one of the fortunate few to be in a secret boardroom when the Grootman was considered for the South African market under the codename KP31. At that point, the bakkie didn't even have a name. Chery then did something rather interesting. They left the naming of the bakkie to South Africans. Such an action can range from clever to downright hilarious. Grootman, if you're one of our international readers, is translated from Afrikaans as 'Big Man' and is typically associated with authority, physicality, someone who's worked hard to get where they are, and being counted on. The namesake here is apparent in the Grootman's potent powertrain and utility.
Grootman is part of big things to come.
Do you know what the best thing is, though? The Grootman will be built right here in sunny South Africa. Confirmed today, the Grootman will be built in South Africa at Chery's recently acquired Rosslyn manufacturing plant in 2027. This is quite significant considering the size of the plant and what came out of it previously. It seems apt for Grootman as one of the maiden voyage vehicles to come out from there.
The Grootman is joined by the other Chery Group products being built in SA soon:
- Chery Tiggo Cross
- Jetour T Series
- Jaecoo J5
- Lepas brand
Grootman in a nutshell
This bakkie rolls on a hybrid platform; it pairs a 2.5-litre turbodiesel engine with Chery's known and potent hybrid systems and channels power to all four wheels. You can expect 350 kW and 800 Nm. This is going to be a Plug-In Hybrid, and the Grootman can run on electric power only for 100 km (NEDC). This electrical power can also be harnessed for Vehicle-To-Load, powering external appliances. Regarding utility, the Grootman is claimed to tow up to 3500 kg braked.
This is just what we know for now. Final specifications, pricing and more will be revealed at a later date.
