The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has announced a safety recall of 23 667 Chery Tiggo 4, Omoda C5 and Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max 2.0 vehicles, according to a statement posted on the NCC’s own website on 10 November 2026. The recall was notified to the commission by Chery International (Pty) Ltd, trading as Chery South Africa. For any business that runs company cars, delivery vehicles or a staff fleet, or sells these models, the notice sets out which vehicles are affected and what the supplier says the faults could do.
Three models, two separate faults
The NCC statement splits the recall into three groups, which add up to the total of 23 667 vehicles.
- Chery Tiggo 4: 17 508 vehicles, made available for sale between 17 October 2023 and 27 March 2024 and sold nationally. According to the supplier, the vehicles may have welding irregularities at the rear axle sleeve, which could cause the rear axle to dislodge and the rear suspension to collapse.
- Omoda C5: 2 685 vehicles, made available for sale nationally between February 2023 and July 2026. The supplier says the rear axle sleeve may have welding defects, with the same possible result of rear suspension collapse.
- Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max 2.0: 3 474 vehicles, manufactured from 20 May 2026 onwards. This is a different problem: the supplier says the front brake pipe may contact the turbocharger assembly, causing wear and potential brake fluid leakage. The NCC records the supplier’s warning that this could reduce braking performance and increase stopping distances, potentially resulting in a collision, serious injury or death.
The NCC attributes every description of a fault to “the supplier” and has published no technical finding of its own.
What owners are told to do
The commission urges owners to take their vehicles to an authorised dealership for inspection and possible repairs. Owners can check on Chery’s website whether their vehicle identification number (VIN) is on the affected list. If a vehicle is unsafe to drive, the NCC says owners should contact Chery’s authorised dealerships or contact centre to arrange towing. Any remedial work will be carried out at no cost to the consumer.
The same notice was reported by the government news agency SAnews on 11 November, which quotes the commission’s acting commissioner, Hardin Ratshisusu.
The NCC is also investigating Chery over notification
The more unusual part of the statement is a warning to suppliers. Ratshisusu said suppliers must notify the commission of any product recall promptly. He added that the NCC “initiated a separate investigation against Chery in October 2026 over allegations that certain vehicles were recalled without informing the NCC”, and that the investigation is ongoing. These are allegations, and the NCC has not said what the investigation has found, which vehicles it concerns, or when it will conclude.
What the law says about recalls
Recalls of this kind run through section 60 of the Consumer Protection Act. In the Act as published on the government’s website, section 60 provides that if goods are unsafe, the commission may recall them for repair, replacement or refund. It also lets the commission, by written notice, require a producer or importer to carry out an investigation or a recall programme where it has reasonable grounds to believe goods may be unsafe. Section 61 makes the producer or importer, distributor or retailer of any goods liable for harm caused wholly or partly by unsafe goods or a product defect, irrespective of whether there was negligence. We read the 2009 published version and have not checked later amendments.
What it means for businesses
For a company with a fleet, the first practical step is the one the NCC gives owners: check each vehicle’s VIN against Chery’s list, and book inspections for any that match. The NCC advice is that an unsafe vehicle should be towed rather than driven.
For dealers and other sellers, section 61 is the reason to take recall notices seriously: the Act names distributors and retailers alongside producers and importers. For suppliers of any product, the notification warning is a reminder that the regulator expects to hear about a recall from the supplier, not from the public. We covered the commission’s wider enforcement push in our report on the 167 compliance notices issued after six months of inspections, and the market backdrop in our report that new vehicle sales rose 10.4% in October.
What is not yet known
The NCC statement does not say how many of the affected vehicles are in business or fleet use, how quickly Chery can inspect and repair 23 667 vehicles, or whether the parts are available. It does not say whether any injuries or accidents have been linked to the faults. The outcome of the separate investigation is not known. We have not seen Chery’s own notice or VIN checker. Owners should rely on Chery’s website and an authorised dealership for the status of an individual vehicle.
