SPY PICS: 2024 Jaecoo J7 hits the road in Sydney

Chinese car-maker Chery recently announced it would launch the premium Jaecoo brand in Australia later this year, kicking off with the all-new 2024 Jaecoo J7 – a mid-size SUV that carsales has now spied testing in Sydney.

The exclusive photographs were captured by an eagle-eyed carsales reader on their morning commute, their attention garnered by the J7’s unique lines and interesting tail-light signature before noticing the covered-over badges.

We’ve contacted Chery Australia for comment but expect the J7 is currently undergoing pre-launch evaluation of its advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), which the Chinese brand will be keen to ensure are well-calibrated for Aussie road conditions in the wake of criticism – and subsequent changes implemented – with the Chery Omoda 5 last year.

Extensive local ADAS testing was also carried out on the recently-launched Chery Tiggo 7 Pro mid-size SUV, so Chery will be keen to iron out any potential kinks with the premium-pitched J7.

The Australian branch is also working with the factory in China to implement dynamic testing, along similar lines to Kia’s local calibration program, however this is understood to be still at the negotiation stage.

Whereas the Chery Tiggo 7 lines up against the GWM-Haval H6, MG HS and entry versions of the Mazda CX-5, Kia Sportage and Toyota RAV4, the Jaecoo J7 will target higher-grade models from the strong-selling Japanese and Korean brands, as well as those from mainstream Europeans.

As such, the J7 will need to offer a combination of style, sophistication, polished road manners and a top-flight safety rating – all at a competitive price point – to make an impact in Australia.

Given the J7 has been revealed internationally, Chery Australia has only attempted to hide the badges for this engineering evaluation vehicle, rather than draw more attention with garish camouflage – as seen recently with the Kia K4 (which was still secret when we caught it in Sydney).

This particular vehicle is registered with Service NSW as a ‘2023 Chery Evaluation Vehicle’ with a listed tare weight of 1620kg.

As we’ve reported, the J7 is powered by a 145kW/290Nm 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission driving either the front or all four wheels, depending on the chosen driveline.

Interior highlights will include leather upholstery and a 14.8-inch portrait infotainment screen.

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