The Chinese SUV marque Haval has enjoyed incredible sales growth within the local market thanks to the introduction of products such as the H2, H9, the latest H6 and the Jolion. Are these good pre-owned propositions, though?
As a regular feature in the top ten best-selling vehicle brands in South Africa, Haval has come a long way since the arrival of the first H5 and H6 models locally towards the end of 2013. In less than a decade, the Chinese carmaker has gone from double-digit monthly sales to selling over 2 000 units per month now in 2022.
With a global shortage of semiconductor chips used in the production of vehicles resulting in global supply constraints for new vehicles, the pre-owned market is experiencing unprecedented growth, but is a used Haval worth it?
The latest Haval H6
Reliability
It has proven quite difficult to find reliability data for Haval products as its products are not yet sold in larger markets like the United Kingdom and the United States of America that have thorough ownership satisfaction surveys. We did, however, find 95 ownership reports on the local Hello Peter site where 77% of respondents gave a brand a 1-Star rating, 4% gave a rating of 2-Stars, 2% provided a 4-Star rating and 17% gave the maximum 5-Star rating. This gives the brand a Trust Index score of 2.2/10, with most complaints we read citing poor dealer service. However, sites like Hello Peter are often accessed by disgruntled customers more so than satisfied customers, so the 95 owners that provided reviews cannot be used as a reliable sample audience.
Interior of the Haval Jolion
Maintenance
When purchasing products from brands that are relatively new to the market, the question of how affordable they are to maintain and how readily available parts are, becomes a primary concern. Looking at the latest AA Spare Parts Guide it would appear that the Jolion compares favourably, being the second-best in terms of its total price basket for service, maintenance and body repair parts. The brand has also invested in a parts depo in Johannesburg, which should ensure most parts are readily available.
Equipment
The primary reason why Haval has risen in popularity locally is the brand’s value for money offering for consumers. Therefore, in the standard equipment department, Haval rates highly, providing about as much kit as is possible at specific price points. Take the Jolion for example, which in flagship Super Luxury guise offers a raft of semi-autonomous driving features, up-to-date infotainment technology and just about every conceivable creature comfort a compact crossover buyer could want, for R416 900 at the time of writing, a figure that will be lower in the used market, too.
Practicality
Since Haval is exclusively an SUV brand, all three of its current SUV contenders offered locally have large boots and capacious interiors while both the H6 and H9 models boast solid off-road credentials.
Verdict
As a brand with solid growth in the local market, the reputation of the Haval brand appears to be improving with each passing month, and over 500 Haval pre-owned models listed on AutoTrader at the time of writing, they appear to be reasonable pre-owned offerings.
Keyword: Is a used Haval a good car?