Jetour South Africa completed the roll-out of its first plug-in hybrid models in South Africa this week by announcing three additional models from 2027, reports The Citizen.

Off-road focused

While no launch date was revealed, the Chery-owned brand confirmed at the gala launch of the T1 and T2 i-DM’s in Pretoria on Tuesday evening, that one will be its incoming new bakkie teased last year.

Of particular interest is that two of three models form part of Jetour’s Zongheng sub-brand, devised specifically for off-road usage.

First to arrive: G700

Arriving first will be the G700, however, unlike in China, it won’t be called Jetour Zongheng G700 or Zongheng G700, but simply Jetour G700.

Set to rival BYD’s incoming pair of Denza models, the B5 and B8, the G700 will also be targeting Great Wall Motors’ (GWM) Tank marque, in particular, the Tank 500.Shown in production form at Chery’s International User Summit in Wuhu last year, the amphibious G700 became the first vehicle to successfully cross the Yangtze River, which took 22 minutes to cover a 1.4km stretch.

Its claimed on-water top speed is 10km/h, with propulsion coming from a pair of rear-mounted propellers developing a combined 18kW.

Based on a ladder-frame chassis, the G700 has a wading depth of 970 mm and a six-axis gyroscope system that adjusts the body when going through water.

Up front, a plug-in hybrid powertrain is utilised, with the battery pack coated in silicone carbide and re-engineered to make it waterproof.

On its own, the 2.0 T-GDI petrol engine develops 155kW/340Nm, while the electrical system is made up of a 31.4-kWh battery powering two electric motors.

The result is a combined 665kW/1 135Nm, which Jetour says will take the G700 from 0-100 km/h in 4.6 seconds.

The claimed all-electric range is 150km according to China’s CLTC cycle, and the distance with the combustion engine included, 1 400km.

Priced from 329 900 to 414 900 yuan, which equates to between R800 256 and R1 006 446 when directly converted and without taxes, more details about the G700 will only be made next year.

F700

Details about the mentioned bakkie, so far only known as the F700, are also speculative, as it has so far only been teased in concept form.

Announced for South Africa at Jetour’s market premiere two years ago under the P5 moniker, the F700 could, in fact, use the same platform as the G700, and by extension, the same plug-in hybrid powertrain.

At the concept’s showing in Beijing last January, the F700 was mentioned as producing 1 172 kW from its 2.0 T-GDI centred hybrid powertrain.

As with the G700, a two-speed Dedicated Hybrid Transmission (DHT) was confirmed as the sole option. Seemingly, the F700 won’t have the same amphibious capabilities.

Spotted in supposed production form at the end of last year, the F700 incorporates the same frontal design as the G700, but with the same overall design as the LDV Terron 9 when viewed from the side.

Reportedly, but not confirmed, is a world debut at next week’s Beijing International Motor Show.

Few details on new EV

While the incoming G600 looks set to be non-starter for South Africa, the third and final new arrival will be an EV of which no details are currently known.

A quick scan of Jetour’s global product range reveals no in-house developed electric vehicle at all, suggesting South Africa could receive either at the same time or after sales commence in China.

As with the G700 and F700, though, clearer details will only emerge at a later stage.