Chery planning ute and SUV assault in Australia

Chinese brand Chery has confirmed fresh details of its impending return to the Australian market with the 2022 Chery Omoda 5, revealing a final-quarter launch for the all-new small SUV and promising a broader range of vehicles to follow from 2023.

Details of these other new models are being kept under wraps, but reports suggest a dual-cab 4x4 ute will follow in the third quarter of next year – about 10 months after the Chery Omoda 5 launch, which is understood to be set down for October.

Taking a similar course to the Aussie market as GWM/Haval and others, Chery plans to fill out its range with SUVs in all the major segments, including the top-selling mid-size category and the ever-popular large SUV class.

Due in the first half of 2024, the most obvious candidates are the mid-size Chery Tiggo 7 Pro and the large seven-seat Tiggo 8 Pro, both of which are launching in South Africa – also a right-hand drive market – this year.

At first glance, the Tiggo SUVs do not have the same degree of design sophistication as the Chery Omoda 5, which a Chery spokesperson in China described as a “blockbuster model” to carsales this week when asked to elaborate on the car-maker’s Aussie launch plans.

But as we’ve seen with other Chinese brands in these parts, the 2024 Chery Tiggo 7 Pro and Tiggo 8 Pro should be highly competitive in terms of features and specification.

Engine options in the Tiggo 7 overseas include a 108kW/210Nm 1.5-litre turbo-petrol that drives the front wheels through a nine-step CVT automatic, while the Tiggo 8 features a 136kW/290Nm 1.6-litre TGDI turbo and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

There’s also an older 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine available overseas, while a new-generation DHT Hybrid system is also nearing production in 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre displacements, using two electric motors with each combustion engine.

According to Chery, the hybrid powertrain delivers up to 240kW in two-wheel drive models, and 338kW in AWD applications.

In the Tiggo 8 Pro, headline features include high-definition dual-screen displays (with a third screen in top-spec models), 360-degree camera monitoring, quilted leather seats, multi-zone climate control, at least six airbags and ‘tiger eye’ matrix LED headlights.

Standard driver assist safety tech extends to autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, front collision warning, traffic sign recognition, door open warning/prevention and automatic high beam control.

In South Africa, the two-model Tiggo 8 Pro range starts from R496,900 ($A43,850) for the entry-level Distinctive variant. Pricing for the smaller Tiggo 7 Pro is still to be released for the SA market.

The Tiggo 4 compact SUV is also sold in South Africa and could potentially slot underneath the Omoda 5 in Australia to help Chery achieve its annual sales targets that are reportedly as high as 30,000 by 2024, 45,000 by 2026 and, ultimately, 75,000.

To put this into context, the top-selling Chinese brand in Australia, MG, sold 39,000 cars last year, placing it among the top 10 brands; 75,000 would have taken third position in the market, behind Toyota and Mazda.

A lot will rest on the dual-cab ute – details of which are still secret – as well as the Omoda 5 as Chery’s first model under its new factory-run sales and distribution business that brings the Chinese brand back to Australia after a seven-year hiatus.

A Chery spokesperson told carsales this week that “we can confirm that there is a plan to launch Omoda 5 by the end of this year in Australia, and the remaining products are still being planned”.

“The various models in the plan can fully meet the various needs of global consumers and the safety and regulations of various countries,” the spokesperson said.

“Omoda 5 is designed to cater to our global consumers’ demands for avant-garde and futuristic technology and will also strive to conquer the Australian market with this attitude of defining youthfulness and cross-culture experiences in the future.”

The company has released further details about the ‘Art in Motion’ design language of the Omoda 5, which uses light and shadow to emphasise the sculptural bodywork and what Chery calls “a surreal fantasy”.

“Born from the brand-new surrealism aesthetic trend, Omoda 5 has a burning ambition to create a futuristic car combining dynamics, youth, vigour and intelligent technology for sophisticated consumers worldwide,” the company said.

According to the car-maker, the name ‘Omoda’ comes from “the Latin root, with ‘O’ representing new and ‘moda’ representing fashion trend, together expressing a futuristic attitude and unquestionable strength of advanced trends for a new generation”.

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