Chinese brand Chery ticks past 12 months in Australia

Chinese challenger Chery has ticked past a year since its relaunch in Australia.

Having returned to the local market in 2022 with the Omoda 5 SUV, the brand has since expanded its range to feature the five-seat Tiggo 7 Pro and seven-seat Tiggo 8 Pro Max.

To date in 2024 it’s delivered 3216 cars, placing it between Land Rover and Volvo on the VFACTS sales charts. It celebrated its birthday with a lavish event for dealers and partners at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne.

Atop the three cars currently in Chery showrooms, the brand has hinted the smaller Tiggo 4 Pro could land on Australian shores for less than $30,000 before the end of 2024.

Chinese brand Chery ticks past 12 months in Australia

The Omoda E5 – an electric version of the Omoda 5 –is due in the second half of 2024, at which point it’ll take on the BYD Atto 3 and MG 4.

The Omoda E5 features an overhauled interior, as well as new front-end styling to distinguish it from the petrol-powered model on which it’s based.

It features a single, front-mounted electric motor with 150kW of power and 340Nm of torque. This means it will have the most power and torque of any Omoda 5 variant in Australia.

Omoda E5

Chery says it offers 430km of range on the stricter WLTP cycle, and supports charging at up to 9.9kW on AC power and 80kW using DC power.

The Omoda C9 SUV has also been approved for sale in government documents. If it’s locked in, it’ll take on the Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe.

The approval documents list two variants of the Omoda C9: one with front-wheel drive and one with all-wheel drive, both with a 183kW turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine mated with an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

“This model is under consideration, but no confirmed plans yet,” said a spokesperson for Chery Australia.

Chery is already preparing to launch a spinoff brand in Australia in the second half of 2024 with Jaecoo.

Chery Australia chief operating officer Lucas Harris has previously confirmed the Jaecoo sub-brand will stand alone Down Under, despite the global Omoda and Tiggo sub-brands falling under the Chery umbrella locally.

“Jaecoo will be a separate brand and separate network in Australia,” Mr Harris said.

“We’re still on track [to launch in] the second half of this year, we’re just working through some of the finer details – but it’s progressing along nicely.”

Mr Harris clarified that while some Jaecoo showrooms will likely “share a wall” with Chery dealerships, Jaecoo as an entity will be “a separate franchise” to the Chery brand.

Jaecoo will be part of a crowd of new Chinese brands coming to Australia late in 2024 or early in 2025 including Zeekr, Geely, XPeng, JAC, GAC, and Smart.

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