Jetour set for Aussie debut in 2025

A new report by Automotive News claims Chery’s off-road sub-brand Jetour will enter the Australian and New Zealand markets in 2025.

According to the report, the Chery Holding Group, which owns Jetour and Chery Automobile, is looking to top two million vehicle sales annually by the end of the decade, half of which will be contributed by its growing number of export markets.

Chery Auto returned to the Australian market in early 2023 and has since released three SUVs – the Omoda 5 small SUV, Tiggo 7 Pro mid-size SUV and, this week, the Tiggo 8 Pro Max seven-seat mid-size SUV.

They will be followed in mid-2024 by the Omoda E5 small electric SUV and, later this year, the Tiggo 4 small SUV and the Omoda 7 mid-size SUV.

Chery Australia recently also announced it would launch the upmarket Jaecoo brand Down Under in the second half of this year, beginning with the Jaecoo J7 mid-size luxury SUV.

The smaller battery-electric Jaecoo J6 is also under study for Australia, as are plug-in hybrid versions of the J7 and the large J8.

Chery Australia executives have long been bullish about their sales goals and intention to become a top-five auto company Down Under, with help from their parent’s Jaecoo and – potentially – Jetour, Exeed and Arrizo sister brands, and perhaps even the Karry commercial vehicle brand.

Jetour was established as a luxury crossover brand in 2018 by Chery Holding Group, which is based in the eastern Chinese city of Wuhu, and last year increased its sales by 75 per cent to 315,000 vehicles – more than one third of which were exports.

Jetour has more than 800 dealerships across China and currently assembles vehicles in three domestic cities – Wuhu, Kaifeng and Fuzhou.

It already exports vehicles to more than 50 markets (but not the US) and its biggest export markets are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Egypt and the Philippines.

According to Automotive News, Jetour plans to also export vehicles to Thailand and South Africa this year, and to Australia and New Zealand in 2025, and the Chinese luxury brand is also about to start assembling right-hand drive in Malaysia and Indonesia using conversion kits sourced from China.

Whether or not this has any relevance to Australia remains to be seen, but Chery Australia this week told carsales it has “no plans at this stage” to launch the Jetour brand here, and ruled out local launches for both the Exeed and Arrizo brands.

If or reportedly when Jetour does come to Australia, the most likely candidate to lead the brand’s Aussie assault is the Jetour T2 large off-roader – the production version of the previously-revealed Jetour Traveller – given the popularity of GWM’s fast-growing Tank sub-brand, particularly the Tank 300.

Unlike other most other rugged SUVs, the 2024 Jetour T2 is built around a monocoque body and comes with either 1.5-litre or 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engines paired to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Ground clearance is rated at 220mm, drive is sent to all four wheels via a full-time 4x4 system and the suspension is independent at both ends, combining a MacPherson strut front-end with a multi-link rear.

The more road-oriented Exeed VX – a full-size luxury SUV – could also come to Australia under the Jetour brand.

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