More Chery brands could come to Australia
Chinese automaker Chery has a dizzying array of brands around the world, but it's sticking to two in Australia… for now.
It has just launched the Omoda Jaecoo brand in Australia, while depending on the market it also offers SUV brand Jetour, premium brand Exeed and commercial vehicle brand Karry.
Then there's electric vehicle (EV) brand iCar – also known as Aiqar or iCaur – as well as its new European brand Lepas. The Rely marque is being dusted off, while Soueast also sits under the Chery umbrella.
It's enough to confuse even automotive journalists. But depending on how well Omoda Jaecoo performs in Australia, there's a chance Chery could bring more brands here.
Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now.
While Chery Australia's communications boss Tim Krieger said the local arm isn't expecting any other brands 'in the short term', he left the door open for others to arrive.
'The clear message for us is: 'You guys have got a big job on your hands certainly with Chery, certainly with Omoda Jaecoo. You guys do a good job with that, let's see what else potentially could come.'' he told CarExpert.
'But everyone's 100 per cent focused on those two brands at the moment, making the best of those opportunities.'
When asked about Exeed and Jetour, which already sell vehicles in markets like the Middle East, Omoda Jaecoo chief commercial officer Roy Muñoz said there were no immediate plans for these locally.
'At this stage, there's no plans or any communications to us about those brands coming,' he told CarExpert.
Jetour, established in 2018, specialises in SUVs. It recently launched the Traveller, a boxy SUV that bears a resemblance to the Land Rover Defender, and it recently revealed a new Zongheng sub-brand that will offer more rugged ute and SUV models.
Exeed, established in 2017, has traditionally offered SUVs with a more premium focus, but it recently launched the sleek Sterra ES full-size electric sedan.
Then there's iCar, established in 2023, which offers boxy SUVs like Jetour. However, all of its vehicles feature electric power, at least for now with extended-range electric vehicle (EREVs) also expected from the brand.
'There was certainly speculation in Shanghai around iCar, but there's nothing official that's been announced by the organisation about that vehicle,' said Mr Krieger, referring to comments made by Chery International president Zhang Guibling at last month's Shanghai motor show.
'There's a lot of exciting brands coming out of the Chery Group, and obviously we'd love to be in the position to consider bringing these vehicles in, but at the moment there's nothing confirmed.'
Notably, the iCar 03 is sold as an Omoda Jaecoo vehicle in some markets, though the company says this model – badged as the Jaecoo J6 – isn't slated for our market.
Chery also has Karry, though this is a China-only commercial vehicle brand. Chery opted not to launch its new Himla ute under this brand, when the vehicle was revealed at this year's Shanghai motor show with prominent Chery branding.
That said, reports out of China have indicated this vehicle will be badged under the revived Rely brand name in China.
This new ute has been ruled out for our market, though Chery Australia is keen to sell a ute here as soon as it has a product it deems suitable.
Chery also announced at Shanghai the Lepas brand, a confounding new development that will offer sleeker, mass-market SUVs in Europe, where Tiggo will be sold as a separate brand and Omoda Jaecoo already exists.
Chery executives said it was too early to comment on the Lepas brand for our market.
For now, it's just Chery and Omoda Jaecoo for Australia, and the Chinese automaker says there's little overlap.
'Each brand has its own unique styling and speaks to a different part of the market,' said Mr Muñoz.
'There's not much crossover at the moment. People who are after Omoda Jaecoo are just after Omoda Jaecoo.
'I don't believe we're diluting. In fact, we're adding more options out there that people can choose from, from different price points, at different specification levels.'
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That's a very ambitious rollout, and we asked Mr Muñoz how much of this is being driven by head office. 'Omoda Jaecoo is a global brand strategy. Certainly they listen to our feedback; we feed back as much as we can about how we think we should launch a brand or how we think a product should be introduced, but there is a bit of a global strategy that we need to execute,' he said. Omoda Jaecoo vehicles are sold under different brands in China, where the Jaecoo J7 is a Chery Tansuo 06 (pictured above), the Jaecoo J8 a Chery Tiggo 9 (pictured below, and not to be confused with the slightly different global Chery Tiggo 9 due here this year), and the Omoda C9 is an Exeed Yaoguang. 'What happens in the domestic market is different to what happens in the overseas markets,' explained Mr Muñoz. So how does Omoda Jaecoo differ from Chery, then, given half its vehicles are sold as Cherys in China? And how does it stand out when the automaker's namesake brand sells vehicles here in the same segments? 'Jaecoo is still focused on that premium adventure-type offering, so creature comforts you wouldn't normally see at this price point, luxury touch and feel. You've got your leather seats, suede roof liner, massaging seats, calf raises,' he said. 'Each brand has its own unique styling and speaks to a different part of the market.' Omoda Jaecoo vehicles also feature a longer eight-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, up from seven years for Chery vehicles. But in a market where even brands such as Jeep have called themselves premium, Omoda Jaecoo is reluctant to use the term. 'I wouldn't say it's the premium arm, but certainly it's the next level up from Chery. In my own terms, it's almost in that sub-premium category but you get the premium feel, features that you don't get at the price point,' said Mr Muñoz. 'That premium word, it's been thrown around, a bit of a buzz word, but it's definitely the next level up in terms of the product offering from the Chery Group.' The upcoming Chery Tiggo 9 (above), for example, wears slightly different styling to the closely related Jaecoo J8, and will miss out on some features like the latter's fragrance dispenser. Chery believes there's enough differentiation to prevent cannibalisation between the two brands. 'There's not much crossover at the moment. People who are after Omoda Jaecoo are just after Omoda Jaecoo,' said Mr Muñoz. 'I don't believe we're diluting. In fact, we're adding more options out there that people can choose from, from different price points, at different specification levels.' 'Different buyers as well. Chery is very focused on the family, urban buyer. Jaecoo is a bit more of that adventurous spirit,' said Mr Krieger. 'The design of the cars is different, the target audience is different, but I think there's room for both.' Chery says it's 'falling into line' with a global strategy, though there are some quirks. The Chery Omoda 5 and Omoda E5 were recently renamed the Chery C5 (pictured above) and E5 in Australia, even though these are sold under the Jaecoo Omoda arm in other markets. 'The difference is that car was introduced into Australia under the Chery brand, whereas in other markets where it was sold it was always sold as an Omoda Jaecoo,' said Mr Krieger. In an attempt to alleviate confusion, these vehicles are being kept in Chery showrooms but being stripped of their Omoda badging.
