Chery targets Hyundai Kona Electric

Bullish Chinese car brand Chery has declared the Hyundai Kona Electric will be outclassed by its first battery-electric vehicle.

Chery returns to the Australian market in either late 2022 or early 2023 with the Chery Omoda 5 small SUV powered by orthodox turbo-petrol drivetrains.

Key competitors nominated by Chery will include the Hyundai Kona and the Mazda CX-30.

But by late 2024 it expects to launch a battery-electric version of the Omoda 5 in global markets including Australia, signalling the start of Chery’s EV onslaught. A plug-in hybrid version of the compact crossover is also on the schedule.

Hyundai has offered a Kona EV alongside mainstream variants of its small SUV in Australia since early 2019, followed by the hot Kona N.

“We benchmark against e-Kona,” confirmed Charlie Zhang, the executive vice-president of Chery International.

“We believe all the key parameters indicate that our Omoda BEV will be much, much better in terms of endurance, mileage, the electricity consumption, all those types of things.”

Hyundai is not Zhang’s only target, as he has also told carsales a slow EV roll-out by Japanese brands will aid Chery’s re-establishment in Australia.

The front-wheel drive Kona Electric is offered in Australia with a choice of 100kW/395Nm or 150kW/395Nm e-motors, 39.2kWh and 64kWh lithium-ion polymer batteries, 305km or 484km claimed WLTP driving ranges and a maximum 100kW charging rate.

Pricing for the Kona Electric starts at $54,500 plus on-roads and tops out at $64,000 (plus ORCs).

Of course, all these numbers may be out of date by late 2024, when the Omoda 5 EV arrives, as a new-generation Kona is due for reveal in mid-2023.

Preliminary details revealed by Chery for the Omoda 5 EV include a 150kW/400Nm front e-motor, a 64kWh battery pack and 450km range.

Pricing is as yet unknown, but Zhang has hinted it will be competitive with fellow Chinese small SUVs in the MG ZS EV and BYD Atto 3, suggesting around $45,000 if the market holds steady.

Chery has also confirmed the Omoda 5 EV will be developed from the same T1X platform as the petrol-powered models. Other EVs and plug-ins will be spawned from this basis and other new platforms as well.

While September 2023 is being targeted for start of production, Zhang admitted it could blow out.

“It could be slightly delayed because it is the first model we have ever developed for European markets,” Zhang revealed.

The Omoda 5 range will be just part of a Chery line-up of up to 10 models including crossovers, SUVs and utes by 2027, when it is targeting annual sales of 75,000.

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