[Image: Newsdesk]
Chery South Africa’s upcoming bakkie has not even reached the local showroom floor yet, and the country is already trying to christen it with a local flavour.
Chery is asking South Africans to submit an original name for the bakkie, with the winner in line for R100,000 towards a Chery vehicle.
The competition began on 17 August 2026, after which the comments section started doing exactly what South African comments sections do when given a brand, a bakkie, and too much creative freedom.
Submissions close on 24 August.
That gives the internet less than a week to decide whether this thing should sound like a workhorse, a family hauler, or a cooler box with suspension. The local name will be announced on Media Day at the Festival of Motoring, where the bakkie will officially be introduced to the South African market.
The vehicle is reportedly sold in China as the Rely P3X, but Chery has not confirmed full South African specifications, pricing, or an exact launch date yet.
The bakkie is expected to be positioned for work, family use and leisure, which is basically the full South African bakkie triangle: school run, site visit, weekend escape.
The winner may also get a trip to China in October, subject to confirmation and competition terms.
Naturally, Mzansi immediately started testing how far a badge can bend before the marketing department starts sweating.
One commenter suggested “Cherry Yaka.”
Another went with “Cherry Picker.”
Someone else offered “Side Chery”, which is either a vehicle name or evidence for the State in a domestic argument.
The line that will probably haunt every meeting room between now and the final reveal came from an anonymous commenter: “Call it a Braailux.”
Honestly, that’s the one.
That is the danger of opening the naming floor in South Africa. You may want rugged, modern and export-ready. The public may hand you a pun that smells faintly of firelighters and lamb chops.
Chery has been pushing hard into the local market with its SUV range, and a bakkie would take it into one of the most emotionally loaded categories in the country.
People here do not just buy bakkies. They name them, judge them, defend them at petrol stations, and compare them with the confidence of men who have reversed one trailer in 2009 and never stopped talking about it.
So yes, Chery may get a tidy official name out of this. But somewhere in the comments, Braailux is already idling.
[Source: Briefly News]
