The Better And Ingenious Choice aimed at budget buyers

The BAIC D20 is now on sale as an aggressively-priced city car aimed at budget buyers, with prices starting from R149 000 for the hatchback and R209 900 for the sedan.

BAIC has a technology-sharing agreement with Mercedes-Benz and the D20 hatch and sedan range being launched in South Africa is built on the basic platform developed by Mercedes-Benz for its Smart For Four.

The hatch comes in either a 1.3-litre or 1.5-litre petrol engine and a five-speed manual or four-speed auto, and the sedan with a 1.5-litre petrol mated to four-speed auto.

Brakes are fitted to all four wheels with ABS and EBD, with reversing sensors fitted to all models.

There are two trim models on offer: Comfort and Fashion.

The Fashion spec adds electric sunroof, day-time running lights, alloys, auto folding exterior rear-view mirrors, audio system with 6.5” touch screen, GPS, USB, CD player, radio and six speakers with speed-sensitive sound level adjustment.

The power comes from two, four-cylinder petrol engines (1.3 and 1.5) capable of 75kW/128Nm and 85kW/148Nm respectively.

Power is sent to the front wheels via the five-speed manual gearbox or four-speed auto, with the latter having three mode settings;

Eco for saving fuel, Snow for a smooth pull-away on uneven surfaces, and Sport for a delayed shift when, says BAIC, “driving enthusiastically”.

Last year, the Beijing Automobile International Corporation (BAIC – pronounced ‘Bike’) announced an R11-billion investment in South Africa, with the move considered “the biggest automotive investment in Africa in the last 40 years”.

The Chinese state-owned enterprise has decided to launch its first product in South Africa before production actually kicks off.

And BAIC (pronounced ‘Bike’) is investing millions in SA to create a vehicle factory capable of building its models locally.

And the automaker started rolling out its model range in April, starting with the D20.

Pay a visit to BB Motors Tzaneen for a testdrive today!