A Chinese vehicle has won the SA COTY competition for the first time.
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.
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.
