Chery names its first bakkie Grootman
Chery has named its first bakkie for South Africa Grootman, a name chosen by South Africans. The model is planned to make its local debut in the first quarter of 2027.
- Product News
- 2 October 2026
Daimler Truck Southern Africa (DTSA) is ecstatic to have walked away with four awards at the Naamsa Accelerator Awards.
The awards include the Extra-Heavy Commercial Vehicle of the Year in the category of New Vehicle Sales, awarded to the Mercedes-Benz Actros. This is the second consecutive year that the Mercedes-Benz Actros has received this award.
DTSA also received three other awards: the WesBank Transformation Performance Award for achieving B-BBEE Level 1, the WesBank Transformation Performance Award for the most improved B-BBEE Scorecard, and it received recognition for its contribution to society in the advancement and development of local communities.
DTSA is a proud member of naamsa and once again participated in Africa’s leading and pre-eminent annual automotive thought-leadership event, the third Naamsa SA Auto Week, held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre last week.
The much-anticipated event brought together automotive industry leaders, global OEMs, vehicle component manufacturers and suppliers, international investors, policymakers, lawmakers, decision-makers, regulatory bodies and journalists across the entire automotive value chain.

This provided an opportunity for crucial discussions and engagements to contribute towards the sector’s growth and sustainability. Aligned with the event’s theme, “Reimagining the Future Together: Celebrating 100 Years of Automotive Heritage, Passion, Resilience and Ingenuity”, DTSA showcased its remarkable journey from the past to the present with the legacy Mercedes-Benz 1418 Truck and the latest fully battery-electric eActros 300.
“The Naamsa SA Auto Week was once again a highlight event for DTSA, and we commend their entire team for pulling off yet another very successful conference,” says Maretha Gerber, President and Group CEO of Daimler Truck Southern Africa.
She continues: “DTSA has a clear commitment towards driving sustainable transport with its goal to offer CO2-neutral products by 2050 and welcomed President Ramaphosa’s announcement at the naamsa event that the government is considering new incentives for electric vehicles (EVs) to make EVs more accessible to the market.”
She concludes: “Walking away with four awards at the NAAMSA Accelerator Awards evening was another highlight for our company and is a testament to our team’s hard work and commitment to the automotive industry and driving it forward into the future.”
Netcare Diagnostics (a Netcare Group business) is introducing its first fully electric vehicles to its transport fleet, starting with shorter urban routes for collecting patient pathology specimens.
South Africa’s new vehicle market recorded aggregate domestic sales of 61 645 units in September 2026, an increase of 12.7% compared with the 54 706 units sold during September 2025.
SA Auto Week 2026 is scheduled to take place in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, from 13 to 16 October, with the event marking five years of SA Auto Week.