Chinese car brands eye Australia

CHINA’S automotive sector has an eye on Australia, with Chery in particular closely monitoring the upcoming launch and future potential for the brand both locally, and on a global scale.

Due to relaunch in Australia next month with its bang-up-to-date Omoda 5 small SUV, Chery is looking to put the past well and truly behind it – a short run here between 2011 and 2015 ended on the back of poor safety scores and an asbestos-related parts scare.

This time, the brand launches in Australia with a wholly-owned subsidiary model that could well make the car-maker more accountable than would have been the case previously, when Chery vehicles were imported and distributed by Ateco Automotive.

The company’s local marketing director, James Curtis, told GoAuto the pressure is on for the Australian arm to get it right this time around.

“Australia really is a litmus test for the brand,” said Mr Curtis. “If it’s successful (Chery) will rise to becoming a truly global company.”

The brand is already present in other markets outside of China, including – but not limited to – South Africa, Russia, Egypt and a number of South American and Middle Eastern nations.

Among the models sold elsewhere are the Tiggo 7 pro medium SUV and Tiggo 8 large SUV that GoAuto understands require more development before being introduced to Australia.

Mr Curtis said that the product range sold in Australia will be more representative of a modern, safety- and technology-focused line-up, where many of those other markets run older, less advanced product lines.

Mr Curtis suggested the Australian market is much more closely aligned with developed nations where the demands of consumers are notably more stringent.

“We’re a right-hand drive market, and that’s a rarity. We’ve got the most amount of makes and models per capita. I think the fact that we’re global consumers, our expectations in safety and in terms of design, and in terms of our lifestyle, are equal to that of North America and Western Europe in particular,” he said.

As for what China is doing to try and allow the brand every success with its imminent launch in Australia, Mr Curtis stated that headquarters are essentially pulling out all the stops to make it a smooth start.

“The supply chain globally has been impacted by it, but our factories haven’t been impacted by COVID. In fact, it’s probably the reverse – Australia is such an important market for Chery internationally that the whole company is pivoting towards our operations. 

“So we’re getting priority shipment, we’re getting priority production; everyone is watching us. So it gives us a lot of confidence that the operations globally are geared and ready for us,” he said.

Mr Curtis, who has a background in logistics management, intoned that Chery will not leave customers in the lurch, stating that the brand is putting a focus on ensuring parts availability and vehicle stock are not problematic.

“We’ve got to make sure we’ve got enough parts in stock to be able to service at, and what we can say is that we’ve got over 580 part lines on order, meaning we can effectively service a car parc of about two to three months from launch, with more parts on the way.

“Where other manufacturers may have parts shortage issues, I don’t expect that to be the case for us. We’re planning to make sure it’s not the case for us,” he said.

The brand’s parts warehouse will be based in Melbourne. Further, Chery’s Australian arm has confirmed it will have “hundreds” of Omoda 5 SUVs on ships, due in Australia in the coming weeks ahead of that vehicle’s launch.

The Chery Omoda 5 is a compact SUV, similar in size to a Nissan Qashqai or Kia Seltos. It will be offered initially with a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol four-cylinder engine, CVT automatic transmission and front-wheel drive.

Pricing and further details about the Chery Omoda 5 are still to be revealed, though the brand has suggested that it will be comprehensively equipped when it comes to safety technology.

The Chery Omoda 5 scored a five-star rating in Euro NCAP crash testing in December 2022.

Chery reportedly sold more than 1.23 million vehicles globally in 2022, an increase of 28.1 per cent on its 2021 tally.