Latest news with #Omoda
Top Gear
a day ago
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Omoda: smart tech makes cars ‘luxury' now, not engine performance
Tech TG gets the lowdown on what makes a fancy car from Omoda Jaecoo UK chief, Gary Tan Skip 1 photos in the image carousel and continue reading Gary Tan, UK boss of the Omoda Jaecoo outfit, reckons luxury isn't about horses under bonnets or the smell of polished burr walnut anymore. It's about gadgets, glowing things, and digitised comfort. Fancier car brands might roll their quilted-leather armrests and shagpile car mats at that, but speaking to Tan said: 'Nowadays, especially the younger generation, they want a vehicle to be as smart as their phone, so we feel that making a car very smart is another way of luxury.' Advertisement - Page continues below Air purification for your hayfever? Check. Acoustic glass? Check. Fragrance patterns? Sure, why not. Once the domain of fancy six-figure saloons, now such features are available in cars costing less than £30k, alongside karaoke kit, of course. Tan says dealer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. 'Because the cars are so well specced and priced a segment below, customers have experienced features they never knew they needed. And once they've had them, it's quite hard to go back.' You might like Omoda has two trim choices to keep things simple, but shrewdly, it's also offering 70,000 miles' worth of RAC breakdown cover to build trust... and for those times you accidentally change the interface language into Turkish. Smart enough to drive itself? Not yet. Tan says there's more work to be done locally, highlighting roundabouts, potholes and poor data connectivity as critical obstacles to this development; 'The UK has very unique road conditions so we don't feel ready. Plus, in the UK, the internet speed is different from other countries.' Advertisement - Page continues below And by different, we presume he means 'slower'. What do you reckon? Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.
The Independent
a day ago
- Automotive
- The Independent
Meet the AI robot that could sell you a car one day
Chery, the owner of Omoda and Jaecoo, has unveiled 'Mornine,' an AI -powered robotic sales assistant, at the Shanghai Motor Show. Mornine can greet customers, provide vehicle information, and serve refreshments, utilizing machine learning to improve its performance based on customer interactions. Currently being trialled in showrooms in Malaysia, Chery plans to potentially roll out Mornine worldwide for dealer-level administration and service. The robot uses speech and vision inputs to interpret commands and has automotive-grade hardware that allows it to walk upright and grip items. Chery also showcased 'Argos,' an AI-powered robotic dog designed to offer companionship for those unable to keep real pets, and suggests Mornine could eventually be used in people's homes.
Gulf Today
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Gulf Today
British car showrooms may feature AI-powered robots as salesmen soon
Robots powered by AI could soon be selling cars to customers in the UK as a global car manufacturer debuts an unusual new member of staff. Omoda and Jaecoo owner Chery has showed off robotic sales assistant 'Mornine' at the Shangai Motor Show on 23 April. It can greet customers, show them around a car, and even make them a tea or coffee. The AI robot uses machine learning to improve its performance, learning from interactions with customers. It has been trialled in showrooms in Malaysia and could soon be rolled out worldwide, a spokesperson for Chery said. The car maker added that Mornine has capabilities including perception, cognition, decision making and task execution and explained the 'ideal use case' was for 'dealer-level admin and service.' The car brand's robotics experts said Mornine uses speech and vision inputs that allow it to 'accurately interpret commands including physical gestures'. Ian Wallace, spokesperson for Chery's Omoda and Jaecoo brands in the UK, said Mornine could even be offered for use in people's homes in the future if showroom trials go well. He said: 'Mornine is an intelligent showroom aid. She can show customers around a vehicle, she can answer questions and she can make teas and coffees, so in a busy showroom environment, if staff are tied up, she's there to be a helpful face of the brand. 'She has learning capabilities so she can react to commands and learn your voice so if you were to use her in a household environment she would start to learn what you like and don't like.' Chery said the robot uses 'automotive-grade hardware' to allow it to walk upright and it has 'dexterous hands' to allow it to grip items. It can also distinguish between voices to identify different customers. The car maker also showcased a robotic dog called 'Argos' at the Shanghai show. They say the AI-powered animal is designed to offer companionship to those who are unable to keep real pets at home. The Independent
The Herald
3 days ago
- Automotive
- The Herald
Omoda to launch new C9 plug-in hybrid in Mzansi in June
Omoda has confirmed its new C9 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) will launch in South Africa next month. The mid-size crossover SUV features a 1.5 l turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine paired with a 34kWh battery pack and four electric motors. According to Omoda, this set-up delivers a combined output of 440kW and 915Nm. Fuel consumption is rated at 1.4 l /100km on the combined cycle, with a claimed electric-only driving range of up to 150km. The battery can be recharged from 30% to 80% in 25 minutes when connected to a DC fast charger. While final specifications for the local market are yet to be confirmed, the C9 PHEV will be offered exclusively in the high-spec Explore trim. Standard equipment is expected to include 20" alloy wheels, a panoramic sunroof, Nappa leather upholstery, power-adjustable front seats and heated seats for front and rear passengers. Further details will be announced closer to launch.
The Citizen
3 days ago
- Automotive
- The Citizen
Intensely shocked plug-in hybrid Omoda C9 SHS arriving in June
Sister brand to Jaecoo will unveil its first electrified model at the same as the former's own first PHEV, the J7 SHS. Omoda's first ever plug-in hybrid in South Africa could became the latest Chinese product to breach R1-million. Image Omoda & Jaecoo With sister brand Jaecoo having confirmed the arrival of its first plug-in hybrid (PHEV) in South Africa next month, Omoda has announced that its debutant PHEV, based on the C9, will be debuting at the same time as its first product tipped to possibly breach the R1-million mark. Serious PHEV punch Approved for South Africa in February, the C9 PHEV will join the Jaecoo J7 PHEV in adopting parent company Chery's SHS or Super Hybrid System moniker first announced at the Shanghai International Auto Show in March. Differing little from the combustion engine C9 on first glance, bar the addition of a second flap hiding the charging port on the rear wing, the SHS will only be offered in flagship Explore guise, which in 'normal' petrol form, starts R885 900. ALSO READ: Plug-in hybrid Jaecoo J7 becoming one with the grid in June Up front resides the biggest difference in that the SHS swaps the 2.0 T-GDI engine for the same 1.5 T-GDI used in the J7 SHS, but with three instead of a single electric motor. Motivated by a bigger 34.5-kWh battery pack, the C9 SHS has a combined output of 440kW/915Nm, which goes to all four wheels via a three-speed Dedicated Hybrid Transmission (DHT). SHS will be modelled on the top-spec C9 Explore. Note: conventional petrol model depicted. Image: Omoda & Jaecoo The claimed all-electric is 150 km and the combined distance with the petrol engine included, 1 100 km. According to O&J South Africa, using a fast DC charger up to 40 kW will require a waiting time of 25 minutes from 30-80%. Likely spec In terms of specification, and given the combustion engine Explore's features, the SHS will come standard with 20-inch alloy wheels, the 12-speaker Sony sound system, a panoramic sunroof, heated, electric and ventilated front seats, heated steering wheel, Nappa leather upholstery, dual 12.3-inch displays, ambient lighting and a pair of wireless smartphone chargers. Interior of the C9 SHS, seemingly, differs little from the conventional combustion model on first glance. Image Omoda & Jaecoo On the safety side, expect the following to feature: Driver Attention Alert; Adaptive Cruise Control; Rear Cross Traffic Alert with Reverse Automatic Braking; Blind Spot Monitoring; Lane Departure Warning; 540-degree surround-view camera system; Lane Keep Assist; Lead Vehicle Alert Stay tuned With a reported week left before it and the J7 SHS' reveal, expect pricing of the C9 SHS to be announced then. NOW READ: Serious shock: PHEV Omoda C9 and Jaecoo J7 outputs revealed
