The AA maintains that increasing the payload of the Jetour T1 and T2 by 58 percent with no attention to structural integrity remains a safety concern for local owners.
The AA has asked Jetour for clarity on their findings. Picture: Supplied
The Automobile Association (AA) of South Africa recently questioned the validity of the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) approval of the updated payload (load-carrying) rating for the Jetour T1 and T2.
Since then, a notice has gone out. And now the AA say that the NRCS has consulted with them and has implemented independent payload testing for the Jetour T1 and T2 range of vehicles sold locally.
Independent testing done
Recent weighbridge testing (both the AA and the NRCS were present) at the Clayville Testing Centre in Gauteng of the Jetour T1 and T2 revealed the following:
- T1 Odyssey 2.0TD – actual weight 1780kg – revised GVM 2308kg – payload variance 538kg,
- T1 PHEV 1.5T – actual weight 1940kg – revised GVM 2448kg – payload variance 508kg,
- T2 Odyssey 2.0T – actual weight 1880kg – revised GVM 2380kg – payload variance 500kg
- T2 PHEV 1.5T – actual weight 2060kg – revised GVM 2538kg – payload variance 478kg
- T2 Xplora 2.0T – actual weight 1900kg – revised GVM 2355kg – payload variance 455kg
Not up to spec
While only the T2 Xplora was found to have performed below the updated 475kg payload rating claimed by Jetour, what was of greater concern to the AA is that the NRCS confirmed that Jetour’s application for the revised payload rating of their vehicles is still in the approval process.
This, they say, contradicts what Jetour stated a few weeks back, claiming at the end of August that “based on the approval obtained from the NRCS, Jetour South Africa confirms that the approved payload capacity applicable to the relevant Jetour T1 and T2 model range is 475 kg, inclusive of the driver”.
No licensing agreement
The AA also confirmed that a solution for updated licensing of existing Jetour T1 and T2 cars, which reflect the revised GVM numbers, has not been reached with the road traffic authorities.
This, they say, implies that existing owners are, by law, still subjected to the lower 300kg weighting listed on their licence discs at a roadblock or at a weighbridge.
The AA insists that Jetour issue a recall notice to all affected customers, advising them of the legislative and law-enforcement risks associated with the licence disc weight-rating.
Global reports not good enough
The AA firmly believe that relying on global lab test reports to ratify local approval processes is simply not good enough for the local consumer.
“The AA once again calls for the NRCS and bodies like the CSIR to mandate meaningful local homologation testing for all new entries into South Africa, as a matter of urgency,” it said.
