Eleven journalists were very privileged to have been invited to attend this year’s Global Travel & Conference with JETOUR, who continue to expand into several international markets, including having recently launched in South Africa. The conference was attended by 300 people from all over the world. The destination was Fuzhou in China, and it was with a bit of anticipation and trepidation that the journalists boarded the plane to Hong Kong, and then finally to Fuzhou.

The purpose of the visit was the Conference, visiting JETOURS Intelligent factory, a Workshop about the T1 and T2 models that had already launched in the Middle East, but are destined for SA shores next year. A music festival was also on the cards.

So, the highlight for me was the visit to the plant in Fuzhou, which was renowned for being a world-class manufacturing centre, which enables the production of intelligent, advanced and digitized vehicles for global customers.

This factory encompasses the full spectrum of vehicle production capabilities, including stamping, welding, painting and assembly, with an annual capacity of 200 000 units and plans to double its output to 400 000 units per year. We were treated to be able to witness Jetour’s state-of-the-art automation, efficient workflows, and optimized assembly techniques firsthand.

JETOUR has also implemented an advanced material management system, with autonomous mobile robots and automatic guided vehicles that efficiently manage daily logistics at the facility. We were provided with an up-close experience of the cutting-edge paint shop, where programmed robots complete 18 tasks per hour, reaching 10 000 units per month. This high-quality painting process prioritizes energy efficiency, automation, high quality and intelligence. This was, frankly, mind blowing how these robots do not cause chaos, and maneuvered there way about the factory as parts of the whole sum without crashing into each other.

The people in the factory were busy, and did not seem to be unproductive, which I have seen at other plants in our country. By leveraging big data and AI, Jetour’s Fuzhou factory processes a “smart brain” that monitors efficient quality control, rigorously pursuing 100% error-proof assembly, 100% qualified vehicle inspection, and 100% traceability of quality information.

The whole experience in China played on one’s senses, from the food, to the architecture. Even the area we stayed in seemed to have been purpose built for the future with may new buildings waiting for people to fill them.

The music festival was a fun time, with many good musicians on show. For me the drone show with multiple drones making shapes of the T1 and T2 was a highlight. Moving onto the workshop, I felt that this for our delegation should have come after we had test driven the cars, was a participative discussion about where the T1 and T2 are in terms of the customer, and also how to improve the cars some more. We were shown the T5, which was inspiring, but unfortunately were unable to take pics as yet, as it is still to be launched. What an SUV!!! The Conference was next where many guest speakers unpacked the Travel Worldwide marketing piece.

JETOUR has focused on the “Travel+” market segmentation with the aim of becoming a global leading brand in hybrid off-road vehicles. Understanding that the most memorable part of any journey lies in the departure rather than the arrival, this SUV brand is crafted to make every moment on the road an elevated driving experience.

We found this most interesting as it seems like a way that JETOUR can separate  themselves from other Chinese manufacturers and gain traction in a very competitive market. There were speakers and leaders from Chery as well, which is the parent company of JETOUR. Since launching in 2018 JETOUR has achieved global sales of 1.4 million units in only 74 months, achieving a cumulative sales volume of 315 167 units by 2023, a year-on-year increase of 75%, making it the fastest-growing new Chinese SUV brand. These figures are astounding for a company only in existence for seven years.

Having only launched locally at the end of September, JETOUR SA has already achieved sales of over 568 retail units across their X70 Plus and Dashing ranges and are well on target to their year-end goal of unit sales. So already making their presence felt. The management is strong with experienced leaders like Nic Campbell formerly at Mitsubishi, and Shaun Steynberg who has a strong marketing acumen. Their PR Courteney very skillfully arranged the trip to China with quite a lot of bureaucracy with minimum fuss.

To the final piece, which was driving the T1 and T2. The journos were very excited as we drove the T1 on a road track, and the T2 on a mild off-road track. Both performed admirably, and we also had time to experience the cabin area and get shots of the styling at the hotel.

Safe to say that we are already anticipating these exciting launches next year, and feel privileged to have experienced them in China. And so concluded a trip which we could say was our Travel Worldwide experience ‘’Hello JETOUR Travel Worlwide’’ For now we say she she, until next time.