A Chinese vehicle has won the SA COTY competition for the first time.
Image: ChatGPT
The Jetour T2 is South Africa’s 2026 Car of the Year. This is the first time ever that a Chinese vehicle has won the prestigious competition, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
The results of the competition, which is currently sponsored by Old Mutual Insure, were announced at a glitzy function in Johannesburg on Wednesday evening. German cars also shared some of the limelight, with the Volkswagen Golf taking second position overall and the Audi RS Q8 completing the podium. German vehicles also won three of the six categories.
The Jetour T2 (centre) shares the podium with the Audi RS Q8 and VW Golf TSI. The vehicles were evaluated in a wide range of conditions.
Image: CW Media
The category winners were whittled down from a pool of 18 finalists, which were put through their paces during a two-day physical evaluation event held in Gauteng in early March.
This year’s juror scores were said to be among the closest ever; however, other aspects, such as sales figures and value metrics, were also calculated into the final results through an automated scoring process.
2026 SA Car of the Year Finalists
Image: Supplied
The victories achieved by the Jetour T2 and Omoda C7 are a testament to the inroads that Chinese vehicles have made into the South African market through their high-value offerings that align with real-world budgets. This year, seven of the 18 finalists were Chinese, and many were at the top of jurors’ lips when discussing the vehicles at the evaluation event.
The competition was judged by a panel of 25 jurors, including IOL’s Jason Woosey.
In theory, the cheapest car in the competition should have as good a chance of winning as the most expensive vehicle, as jurors are instructed to score each of the finalists against their natural competitors, rather than the other finalists. A comprehensive score sheet, covering aspects from design, to functionality, dynamics and performance, was designed to facilitate this.
The Jetour T2 is set to be built in South Africa from 2027.
Image: Supplied
Fun fact: BMW has won the competition a record seven times in the past 40 years. A bakkie has only ever won it once, with the Ford Ranger taking honours in 2023, although this body style was only eligible in recent years.
German brands have won the competition 23 times in its 40 year existence. Japan is a distant second at 7 victories, followed by France (3), Sweden and the US (2), while Italy and South Korea have one victory each.
IOL Motoring