Chery aiming for five models within 12 months

CHERY is planning to offer five new vehicles in Australia within a 12-month period, and the company says it will include electric vehicles as a priority for its local range.

The brand is set to re-launch in Australia in February as a wholly owned subsidiary of Chery’s Chinese operations, with a local team dedicated to ensuring the company has a more successful tenure under direct ownership.

Chery’s first vehicle to launch here will be a petrol-powered small SUV, known as the Omoda 5, which the brand feels is destined to hit a sweet spot in the market for a large number of consumers.

Although Chery Australia continues to publicly promote the Tiggo 7 Pro medium SUV and Tiggo 8 Pro large SUV through its social media channels, GoAuto understands they require more development before launching here. 

Chery Australia marketing director James Curtis told GoAuto that the brand knows there is demand from different types of consumers, and that the needs of new-car customers are constantly evolving.

“I’ve got the fortunate position of being able to look ahead into the future, a little bit of crystal balling. I’m really excited about what we’ve got coming up – and we’re not talking a matter of five years, we’re talking a matter of 12 months,” he said. 

“I can be pretty confident that those cars I’ve seen in presentations and on screen will be made available to us. And they span multiple segments and multiple different powertrains. EVs, PHEVs, four-wheel drives, passenger cars, whatever – I’m really confident that five, if not more, of those cars will be available,” he said.

The difference between being ‘available’ and ‘going on sale’ aside, Mr Curtis stated that some models will offer different powertrains to suit the demands of different buyers. He said the Omoda 5 is one such car.

“Omoda 5 will be a car that will suit multiple different lifestyles. It will have internal combustion engines, but it will also be built with EV. And that car is available, and will come to Australia,” he confirmed.

Details on the battery electric (BEV) version of the Omoda 5 are not yet public, however, as GoAuto has previously reported, the Omoda 5 BEV could be powered by a 150kW/400Nm front-mounted motor with a 64kWh battery pack.

The Omoda 5 BEV is said to be able to be recharged from zero to 80 per cent in 40 minutes by way of a DC fast charger, or in five hours from a domestic ‘wallbox’ charger.

A version of the Omoda 5 with plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain – offering up to 338kW in all-wheel drive configuration – is also slated for Australian delivery, but it is not yet known whether the PHEV Omoda 5 will precede its all-electric sibling.

The BEV is said to offer up to 450 kilometres of driving rang, putting it in a position to be a key rival to the likes of the MG ZS EV and BYD Atto 3.

Whether or not it will be positioned as such in terms of list pricing is still to be seen, with Chery stating it will not announce pricing until mid-to late-February for the petrol-powered Omoda 5, in the first instance.

Mr Curtis was not able to confirm how long buyers would need to wait for the BEV version of the Omoda 5, however he did suggest that it won’t be the only electric vehicle offered by the brand in the short to medium term.

“I can’t be specific at this stage as to when it’s coming in. But the EV plan is aggressive, and we will have EVs available to the market, I would expect within a 12-month period,” he said.

Mr Curtis suggested that Chery will be focusing on new-generation models, rather than any existing products in the global portfolio. Chery’s international operations are stocked with older models that do not offer the same level of technology or safety equipment, but Mr Curtis made it clear that all models sold here will meet market expectations.

“All I can say is that from quality, features, finish, warranty, aftersales – we’re going to be as good as the established players in the market. Omoda 5 has already been awarded a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, so that’s a solid hallmark of the quality. Every car that we bring into Australia – it’s our requirement, our desire – to ensure that car meets the five-star (safety) requirement.

“Our cars that we bring in, our brand that we establish – we’re a global brand and we’re a brand that represents cars that are of a global quality, global safety,” he said.

Mr Curtis stated more directly that the existing Tiggo SUV range will not form part of Australia’s car parc, at least initially. 

“Tiggo is our volume SUV range globally, and those cars are designed and developed for other markets at this stage. 

“They’re on our bucket list, but again – to my point before – we’ve got to make sure that we launch those cars at the right time, and that they’re the right derivations with five-star safety, advanced technology, and sustainable technology such as plug-in hybrid versions or EV versions,” he said.

“We’re going to be very careful about when and how we launch those models, but they will be significantly different to what you see on the market anywhere else in the world at the moment, the versions that we have here,” he said.