BAIC is a Chinese motor manufacturer that has been in South Africa since 2018, but they have flown under the radar as a motor retailer. And more controversially so from a manufacturing point of view. I am not going to get into all the political details other than to say the local BAIC (pronounced bike) story is one of those interesting little things that could end up on Netflix one day.
But for now, it’s my job to tell you about the BAIC B40 Plus SUV that I got to spend a few days with. The B40 Plus is not new to us; it has been around since 2021; but this was my first drive in any BAIC product. The B40 Plus has strong Jeep Wrangler-type styling cues, which is perhaps to be expected as BAIC had a joint venture partnership with Stellantis.
And Stellantis has the Jeep marque under its umbrella. Ready to take it off Further cementing that Jeep Wrangler-feel, the doors and roof can be detached. And the windscreen can fold forward and latch onto the hook on the bonnet.
I think the BAIC B40 Plus pulls off that rugged, go-anywhere look that is much desired when shopping for this kind of SUV. The Citizen Motoring wasn’t going to try and figure out how quickly we could strip down the B40 Plus. And certainly wasn’t going to attempt to try put it back together again.
I have no doubt that an outdoor, off-road mad owner will. Where this ability to remove doors and roofs comes back to bite the B40 Plus, is on the open road. Now even some of the best cars in the world have wind noise .