Chery Tiggo 9 a strong chance for Australia

Ambitious Australia-bound Chinese brand Chery has just revealed a seven-seat flagship for its SUV line-up – the 2023 Chery Tiggo 9.

Powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine and available with front- and all-wheel drive, the Chery Tiggo 9 measures up almost identically with the popular Kia Sorento seven-seat large SUV.

Due on sale in China in May, the Tiggo 9 is yet to be confirmed for Australia but would make sense to join the already confirmed 2023 Chery Tiggo 7 Pro and Tiggo 8 Pro that are headed our way.

When contacted about the Tiggo 9, a Chery Australia spokesman refused to provide any clarification, citing an embargo on pricing and product information leading up to the launch of the brand.

Originally expected late in 2022, Chery is now expected to open showroom doors beginning late in the first quarter of 2023.

The two Tiggo SUVs are scheduled to follow the Omoda 5 onto the Australian market in 2023, along with an as yet unseen Jeep rival.

The Tiggo 7 Pro is a five-seat medium SUV while the Tiggo 8 Pro is larger seven-seater, although still 100mm smaller than the 4820mm-long Tiggo 9.

According to Chinese media reports, other key Tiggo 9 measurements are a 1930mm width, 1699mm height and a 2820mm wheelbase

All that sets the Tiggo 9 up very closely with the Kia Sorento, which measures up at 4810mm long, 1900mm wide and 1700mm high and sits on a 2815mm wheelbase.

Limited information has been released about the Tiggo 9 in China, but exterior features are reported to include the choice of 19- and 20-inch alloy wheels, a panoramic sunroof, pop-out door handles and an illuminated Chery logo in the grille.

Spy shots of the interior have revealed a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and 12.3-inch touch-screen, wireless charging and a flat-bottomed steering wheel.

Mechanically, the new 2.0-litre petrol engine is reported to punch out a healthy 190kW and propel the Tiggo 9 to a top speed of 205km/h.

The underpinnings are provided by Chery’s M3X monocoque architecture, which supports internal combustion, range-extender hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains.

The Tiggo 7 and 8 are underpinned by Chery’s older T1X model architecture.

Chery has massive expansion plans in Australia, targeting 75,000 sales per annum, a line-up of EVs, utes and potentially even the addition of premium sister brand Exeed.