Jetour to spare no expense on Australian launch

Australians will be treated to a carefully crafted, big-budget advertising campaign from plug-in hybrid SUV specialist Jetour as it readies for its Australian introduction. The Chery spin-off will be striving for maximum brand recognition in the shortest possible timeframe, daring to prove Kia wrong.

The campaign will cover not only outdoor advertising (billboards), but will also extend to TV commercials, both tailored to suit the Aussie culture – according to Jetour’s president, Ke Chuandeng.

“I think that we have the budget, so I think we are going to start with the marketing activities in the second half of this year – before we officially launch,” he said.

“We have the plan for a grand promotion.”

Jetour has been operating in markets throughout Africa and Asia for some years now, with Australia now in the company’s sights and ultimately a stepping stone to other markets.

Australia is a mature, wealthy market that’s politically and economically stable, but there’s one particular attraction for Jetour.

“[The] Australian market is our dream place. It’s a very good market, with 1.2 million [sales in] market size,” Ke said.

“We believe that our models, our products, are very suitable for Australia.

“For Australia, we will introduce some special IP... because Australia is very suitable for the travel (the company’s Travel+ brand image).

“We will try to create some special IP and special lifestyle [image], which aligns with our Travel+ strategy; I think it’s very suitable.”

The Travel+ strategy marks the company’s embrace of a particular type of car culture; for drivers who like going places, but not commuting, but also not necessarily the sort of drivers to enjoy motorsport competition either.

For these drivers, it’s about jumping in a car and heading to a holiday destination for the boating/camping/fishing, or visiting landmarks to take in the sights, all the while enjoying the journey in comfort.

Jetour’s management believes the Travel+ strategy would dovetail very neatly with Australia’s well-established fondness for road trips, for getting away from it all.

The brand's Australia HQ will be in Sydney, and local dealers have been sounded out to join the network. According to Ke, the dealers like what they see, and they don’t want to share with others.

“Even some of the partners that want to come [on board] in the Australian market [say]: ‘Okay, you don’t need to find another partner; I will invest over there... no, no, no. No problem... if you trust me, I can invest immediately’.”

Join the conversation at our Facebook page
Or email us at editor@carsales.com.au