Chery to exploit slow Toyota, Mazda EV roll-out

A plan to exploit the slow introduction of affordable electric vehicles by Japanese makes including market leader Toyota is one of the key reasons China’s Chery Automobile believes it can become one of Australia’s top-selling car brands by 2027.

It has also promised it won’t pull out of Australia again – as it did after an unsuccessful stint here between 2011 and 2016 – if it does not achieve its sales targets.

Chery relaunches in Australia in the next few weeks with the Chery Omoda 5 compact SUV, followed by the Tiggo 7 Pro and Tiggo 8 Pro SUVs and the as-yet-unseen J Series Jeep rival by the end of 2023.

But it promises that is only the start of a massive roll-out of new metal including SUVs and utes powered by orthodox and electrified drivetrains over the next few years.

Chery is targeting 30,000 sales in Australia by 2024, 45,000 by 2026 and 75,000 per annum by 2027.

Based on 2021 annual numbers for the Australian market, that would place it third behind only Toyota and Mazda.

Globally, Chery’s ambitions are no less dramatic. It wants to export 400,000 vehicles in 2022, 600,000 in 2023, one million in 2025 and two million in 2030.

In a clear shot at Aussie market leaders Toyota and Mazda, which sell only a single EV between them at the moment – the moribund Mazda MX-30 – Chery International executive vice-president Charlie Zhang said Japanese brands had left the way open for the state-owned brand to rapidly advance.

“In the future we will introduce more PHEV and BEV models,” Zhang said. “I know Japanese brands are pretty strong in Australia, but they are pretty strong because they have a lot of ICE [internal combustion engined] models.

“So the biggest differentiator for us compared to the Japanese brands could be the new energy vehicles we are planning to introduce to Australia.”

The Chery Omoda 5 will launch with turbo-petrol power in late 2022 or early 2023, followed by plug-in hybrid and EV powertrains by the end of 2024. More new EV and PHEV models are promised to flow from new platforms being developed now.

Little is known so far about the electrified Omoda 5 models, but Chery first plug-in hybrid model will be the Tiggo 8 Pro e+ large SUV, in which the company will debut its DHT Super Hybrid Technology.

“Since the launch of the first generation of Toyota Prius, the patent of hybrid technology has been dominated by Toyota, Honda and other brands for a long time,” says Chery of the Tiggo 8 PHEV.

“But now, as a Chinese auto brands with technical strong ability, Chery is fully aware that technology is the first productive force, therefore, with more than 20 years of technical development, Chery researched and developed the DHT Super PHEV Technology.

“So far, with Chery as the leading company, many auto companies have unveiled their technical solutions in the field of hybrid power. Among them, Chery DHT Super Hybrid Technology presents the leading technical strength of the Chinese hybrid power.

“To break the technology monopoly by Toyota and Honda, Chery adopted the DHT special hybrid transmission based on the configuration of dual motor drive as its technical route, which not only successfully avoided the technical barriers of the power splitting route, but also created the world's first full-function hybrid configuration DHT.”

Chery’s DHT PHEV system combines its widespread 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine with dual electric motors and, in the Tiggo 8, develops a claimed 510Nm of torque, returns fuel consumption as low as 1.0L/100km and delivers 0-100km/h acceleration in seven seconds.

Both power sources are able to drive the wheels independently and there are nine driving modes including single/dual motor drive, range extension, parallel connection and direct engine drive, plus 11 gearing combinations.

“In addition, TIGGO 8 PRO e+ has adaptive power modes covering all vehicle scenarios, including vehicle starting, medium- and low-speed driving, elevated road driving, overtaking, traffic light, congestion, expressway driving, long-distance driving, mountain road driving, high-speed steering, and ice/mud/sand and gravel, ensuring that the vehicle is always in the best condition of giving consideration to power and fuel economy and realizing the current ‘Double optimal solution’ of fuel consumption and power. The DHT hybrid system is now at the industry-leading level,” says Chery.

Zhang pointed out the intense sales competition in the huge Chinese EV market was driving development gains, which would also create advantages against brands from other countries.

“Sure we have the ICE to compete against the other traditional brands, but also we are opening a new track that is new energy vehicles.

“We believe that could be one of the biggest differentiators for us in the coming years.”

Zhang also argued a fundamental product development overhaul meant Chery now had much better quality and more modern models to sell to the Australian public than the J1 and J3 hatchbacks and the J11 small SUV it sold here first time round.

A new platform sharing strategy has improved quality and cut development times, he claimed.

“So right now we have much stronger technical capability than before and the products are much more competitive,” he said.

As an example of that, he promised the Omoda 5 would come with five-star ANCAP safety rating.

“My point is that this product is very nice in terms of design, technology, safety, a lot of features,” Zhang said. “We do have comparative advantages over our competitors in Australia.”

Zhang was emphatic Chery would not disappear from Australia if it missed its sales targets.

“No, no, no. This is our strategic target like a flag. We raise this flag. We will make all the best efforts to do it.

“Sometimes we know it seems like mission impossible but on the other hand we know we can make dreams come true.

“I know it is very, very challenging… but we will make our best efforts.”

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