Chery promises more local tuning for its future models

Chery wants to become a top-five automotive brand in Australia and, to help it get there, promises to conduct more local development of the models it introduces here.

One of China’s largest vehicle manufacturers and its biggest car exporter, Chery was relaunched in Australia in March 2023 with the Chery Omoda 5 small SUV, which was last week joined on sale by the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro mid-size SUV.

Speaking at the launch of the Tiggo 7 Pro, Chery Australia’s head of product and aftersales, Lucas Harris, said that in addition to local safety testing like that conducted for the Omoda 5 and Tiggo 7 Pro, the company will undertake chasing tuning programs to ensure that future models suit local conditions.

“One of the main focuses for us with Tiggo 7 Pro and other models moving forward was having local adaptability and validation of the vehicle, not just safety systems which is the focus for everyone but the car more generally – the ride and handling, the dynamic feeling,” he said.

“With the Tiggo 7, we just spent just short of 50,000km of road adaptation in Australia prior to launch, largely focussed on driver support systems and making sure that they operate as best as they can in local conditions which are very varied.”

The move comes after Chery Australia was forced to address criticism of the Omoda 5’s driver-assistance systems after the small SUV’s release earlier this year.

Harris said the new Tiggo 7 Pro, meantime, has “…basically been to every capital city and everywhere in between during the validation and adaptability program”, although no steering or suspension tuning was conducted for the model.

“You’ll see that in future generations, the fruit of that labour,” he said.

Chery says it also wants to avoid any potential crash test safety issues with its new models, given the brand’s chequered safety history here.

Chery’s previous (independent) distributor ceased Australian sales after five years in 2016, leaving a poor safety record including a two-star ANCAP rating for the J11 small SUV, the lack of electronic stability control for its sub-$10K J1 city-hatch and an asbestos-related recall.

“We’re also committed to doing safety testing in Australia,” said Harris, adding that the brand conducted crash tests in Australia to ensure its vehicles would be compatible with ANCAP testing.

“We had a pre-test program before we went through the official ANCAP testing. The reason we want to do this local testing is it’s good to get local experts involved who understand our market, and it’s a good way to invest in testing in Australia.”

The Chery Omoda 5 was awarded a five-star ANCAP rating in 2022, but the Tiggo 7 Pro is yet to be rated by Australia’s independent auto safety body.

Harris said Chery Australia’s local safety testing process will continue following the employment of dedicated safety engineers.

“We’re in the process now of employing our own experts that have come from local industry, but are looking for partners who are specialised in that area also.”

Chery Australia’s brand and marketing director, Mark Vujoka, said the fledgling brand is confident of further sales growth as part of its ambition to be a volume-seller in Australia.

“We’ve managed to get 60 dealers and in eight months since launch we have sold around 4300 units of just one model, the Omoda 5, and have about a five per cent market [segment] share,” he said.

“We’d like that number to grow, but it’s a pretty solid performance in just eight months.

“We want to get into the top 10 fairly quickly, for volume, so I think in the medium/long-term we want to be a serious contender in the top five.”

Back in November 2022, executive vice-president Andy Zhang told carsales that Chery Australia was targeting 30,000 annual sales by 2024, 45,000 by 2026 and 70,000 by 2027, “[when] we expect to be top five in the market”.

New additions for the brand in 2024 will include the seven-seat Chery Tiggo 8 Pro and an all-electric version of the Omoda 5, likely followed by plug-in hybrid versions of the Tiggo 7 and 8, a new off-road SUV codenamed TJ-1, the flagship Tiggo 9 and, eventually, a Chery ute.

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