Latest / Cars.co.za News / Car News! Arcfox T1 Pricing, Kia EVs coming to SA, new-gen Chery X7

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Car News! Arcfox T1 Pricing, Kia EVs coming to SA, new-gen Chery X7 · Cars.co.za News

• 0:00
  Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Kaza Kosa News. I'm David Taylor.
• 0:04
  These are your headlines. We've got pricing and specs for the brand new ArcFox T1.
• 0:10
  What is Arc Fox? We're going to discuss that.
• 0:12
  Kia South Africa has confirmed it will be launching electric cars in 2027.
• 0:16
  We also share a first look at Cher's new X7,
• 0:19
  plus some good news in the form of a petrol price reduction,
• 0:23
  but I will unpack that in a bit because it's a little bit sus.
• 0:26
  And guys, before we get stuck in, if you do want to buy a new or used vehicle, well,
• 0:32
  Kazakosa, what a great place to find your next vehicle. 77,000 vehicles for sale.
• 0:39
  Okay, lock in. Let's go.
• 0:40
  Add your car to my cars on cars.cosa.
• 0:42
  [music] Compare insurance quotes, book a service, see what your car is worth,
• 0:46
  and get free AA access membership when you add your car.
• 0:49
  [music] my cars oncars.cosa. Your car sorted.
• 0:54
  First up, pricing and details for a brand new name plate in our market.
• 0:58
  This is the Arkfox. First product out is the T1.
• 1:00
  And as a reminder, Arc Fox is a brand from parent group BIC.
• 1:03
  Now, if that name sounds familiar, they make their own vehicles.
• 1:06
  We've reviewed one of them on the channel.
• 1:09
  Plus, they have an assembly facility out in the Eastern Cape.
• 1:12
  Now, this thing in terms of design, it's pretty sharp looking, don't you think?
• 1:17
  And I think the pricing is going to entice a lot of you because, wait for it,
• 1:21
  priced from just under 360 grand with the highest spec flagship coming in at 400,000
• 1:25
  rand just under. And this makes it South Africa's fourth most affordable electric
• 1:29
  hatchback. Based on its dimensions and have a look here,
• 1:32
  it's a little bit bigger than the rest of that segment.
• 1:34
  So things like your BYD, Dolphin Surf, Cherry Q, Gil E2, so on.
• 1:40
  The Artfox T1 is a little bit bigger than that.
• 1:41
  In terms of powertrain, from what I can see,
• 1:44
  single electric motor driving the front wheels, 70 kW, 176 Newton meters,
• 1:47
  battery size, 42.3 kW battery pack, and a range of around 310 km.
• 1:52
  So, I think it ticks the boxes on paper at least.
• 1:54
  As I've mentioned, there's two derivatives with the higher spec model getting larger
• 1:59
  18-in wheels, additional airbags, and nice things like adaptive cruise control.
• 2:02
  Onwards, and Kia South Africa has confirmed that not one,
• 2:05
  but two electric vehicles will be coming to South Africa in 2027.
• 2:09
  And speaking at the recent 2026 SA Auto Week,
• 2:12
  Kia South Africa CEO Paul Turnbull had this to say.
• 2:15
  And we quote, "We've earmarked a launch for the EV3 for probably February 2027,
• 2:18
  maybe March latest. That's where we'll start.
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  It's a premium product, so it won't be positioned against the entry-level EVs which
• 2:24
  have gained some traction in South Africa.
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  And I must say the EV3, I mean, look at it. It's on your screen right now.
• 2:31
  I think that's a really good-looking, sharp,
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  modern interpretation of what an urban EV should look like based on what I can see
• 2:36
  from Kio Global Media sites. 58 kilowatt hour battery or an 81 kWh battery.
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  Power ranges from 150 kW to 230 kW.
• 2:42
  I think pricing is going to be on the premium side, guys.
• 2:46
  So, don't say you haven't been warned. I reckon 750,000 to 800,000.
• 2:49
  But I've got good news if you are a little bit more pocket sensitive.
• 2:52
  The second EV will be, I think, a little bit more affordable.
• 2:57
  And here's the continuation of the quote from Mr. Turnbull.
• 2:59
  We have the Cyros coming and that will be an EV.
• 3:01
  We're just waiting to get the pricing right.
• 3:04
  That's a negotiation, but we should also launch that in 2027.
• 3:07
  I think this will be the more affordable, more practical, less stylish,
• 3:11
  but more sensible product from Kia.
• 3:13
  Moving on, Ant Cherry has announced a brand new Tigo 7.
• 3:16
  And this one's got a distinct off-road flavor to it because now there's a derivative
• 3:22
  called the Tigo X7. And I can't imagine that a certain Bavarian car maker will be
• 3:25
  too pleased with the X7 name. But anyways, I digress.
• 3:28
  This vehicle is confirmed for South Africa in the third quarter of 2027.
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  And look, if you don't want the off-road pack,
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  Cherry has already said the standard Tigo 7 has also been substantially updated,
• 3:36
  and that is also coming. There's not many tech details out yet,
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  but from what I can see, this new model is longer.
• 3:44
  And like many of the newcomer brands,
• 3:47
  now flavor of the week in terms of design is everything must look slightly off-road,
• 3:50
  slightly boxy. And because it's Cherry Group,
• 3:52
  they've got a massive powertrain portfolio to draw upon.
• 3:53
  So, we're likely to see petrol, turbo petrol, plug-in hybrid,
• 3:57
  and ATVs to choose from. So, you can diize in your calendar third quarter 2027 for
• 4:02
  the new Cherry 7. Onto some industry news,
• 4:04
  and the big one is the finance minister confirming a reduction in the levies for
• 4:09
  fuel. So, now before we all celebrate,
• 4:10
  we need to unpack this because let me go through the quote first.
• 4:14
  To provide temporary relief, the fuel levy will be reduced from three rand per liter
• 4:18
  for diesel and 150 per liter for petrol from 4th of November up until 1 December
• 4:22
  2026. Yay, progress. So, it gets a little bit better.
• 4:26
  Thereafter, the relief will continue at a low amount until the 5th of January 2027.
• 4:29
  The diesel levy will be reduced by 1 150 per liter and the petrol levy by 1 rand per
• 4:33
  liter. It's nice, but it's still not enough.
• 4:36
  And also, what's going to happen next year?
• 4:38
  I mean, we're guys, we're living in a cost of living crisis and I think these taxes
• 4:43
  on fuel are too damn high. And yes, you may use the meme here.
• 4:47
  [screaming] Test cars coming to the car South Africa offices this week.
• 4:51
  Well, as soon as I'm finished filming this, my cameraman and I,
• 4:56
  we are heading out to a 4x4 course and we're going to be putting the brand new JMC
• 4:59
  Grand Avenue to the test. This car looks suspiciously cheap and we'll be trying to
• 5:04
  find out what the catch is. videos going live on the channel this week.
• 5:08
  Well, Cherro is finishing up the edit of his Mazda CX63.3 diesel.
• 5:10
  I think he liked that car. I haven't seen the draft yet.
• 5:15
  And we've got the first of the SA Auto Week podcast where you will get all the
• 5:17
  insights from the industry leaders.
• 5:19
  Now, if you're a regular user of the Kazak Kosa website,
• 5:23
  you may have noticed a color change over the past few days. That's right.
• 5:26
  Many of you have asked us for dark mode, and we've listened.
• 5:29
  So, now you've got less eye strain and slightly muted tones.
• 5:32
  And personally for me who works late at night, I like this aesthetic.
• 5:36
  There's less glare. And if you don't like dark mode and you want the good old
• 5:40
  punchy, bright and vibrant Kaza Kosa look,
• 5:43
  you can just click the little switch and it'll go back to our normal mode.
• 5:48
  And guys, before I end off, remember that the my cars function by Kaza Kosa is now
• 5:51
  active and it just makes car ownership that much simpler.
• 5:55
  You can easily find the valuation on your car, insurance quotes, and much,
• 5:58
  much more. So don't delay. Sign your car up to Kaza Kos's my cars function.
• 6:02
  Right, that's where I'm going to end off this week, guys. You know the drill.
• 6:06
  All the articles and additional reading will be loaded into the description below.
• 6:10
  And hey, if you do like what you've seen, guys, let me know.
• 6:13
  Do you think Tigo X7 is going to be cool? Do you think Arc Fox has got a chance?
• 6:19
  Very, very exciting times. There seems to be no shortage of vehicles launching in
• 6:22
  our market. And guys, remember, if you do want to buy a vehicle, Kaza Kosa,
• 6:28
  77,000 new and used vehicles available. We've got a massive selection.
• 6:29
  Bies, hatchbacks, station wagons, convertibles,
• 6:32
  and and and 77,000 cars are just a few clicks away. I'll see you next week.
• 6:38
  Okay, bye.
• 6:40
  Add your car to My Cars on cars.co.
• 6:41
  [music] Compare insurance quotes, book a service, see what your car is worth,
• 6:45
  and get free AA access membership when you add your car. [music] mycars oncars.cosa.
• 6:50
  Your car sorted.