The first new Chery cars for Australia in eight years have been built and are reportedly ready for the Chinese brand’s relaunch, however the rollout is behind schedule.
The return of Chinese car maker Chery to Australia has been delayed again – but the first cars have now rolled off the production line in China, ahead of a proposed launch in Australia in March or April pending any further setbacks.
Chery was due to return to Australia in late 2022 – eight years after it departed the market, following an unsuccessful four-year stint marred by sliding sales, poor safety ratings, and an asbestos recall.
Now representatives for the Chinese brand say it is due to relaunch locally by the end of March 2023. More details are expected soon, on a revamped website.
Photos published by Chery on Facebook show the first examples of the company’s first new model – the Omoda 5 small SUV, a rival for the MG ZS, Haval Jolion and Mazda CX-30 – have rolled off the production line.
Due later are two larger SUVs, the Mazda CX-5-sized Tiggo 7 Pro and Mitsubishi Outlander-sized Tiggo 8 Pro family SUVs – but new arrival dates for these vehicles are yet to be confirmed.
Chery executives have previously announced a bold sales target to sell 70,000 cars annually in Australia from 2027 – and become a Top Five selling brand, alongside the likes of Mazda, Hyundai, Kia, Ford and Mitsubishi.
It is unclear if this ambitious sales target – which if achieved would see Chery ramp up faster than any new automotive brand in Australian history – remains in place, or if executives have since come up with more realistic sales targets.
It took fellow Chinese brands MG and Great Wall Motors three years each to sell 10,000 cars per year, and four and 13 years respectively to eclipse 25,000 sales in a calendar year.
The company claims in a press release it has already established 40 dealer locations – including in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – with plans to expand to 60 sites later this year.
Chery has previously advised the Omoda 5 would launch in a choice of two model grades, powered initially by a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine with front-wheel drive – ahead of a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol model with all-wheel drive.
Hybrid and/or electric versions are expected to arrive at a later date.
Prices are expected to start from approximately $30,000 – based on the options in a customer survey posted by Chery on social media – and all models are slated to offer a full suite of advanced safety technology as standard.
The Omoda 5 has received a five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP in Europe – which is expected to translate to Australia’s ANCAP equivalent, as the two safety organisations have largely aligned their test protocols.
The car maker claims it has conducted 30,000km of road testing around Australia with Omoda 5 prototypes.
“Chery is very different from what we used to be – what we were a long time ago,” the boss of Chery’s International export division, Charlie Zhang, told Australian media last year.
“The product, the quality, the design, the technology – as you can see from Omoda 5 – has been completely changed.
“That is why will not be a labeled as a Chinese brand that [has] cheap pricing. It is not price-driven. We want to be a technology-driven company.
“MG and Great Wall have been selling a great number of cars in Australia. We will definitely catch up, because what they have, we will have – and we will have more, and better,” he added.
More details of Chery’s Australian relaunch are due closer to the arrival of the first cars in the coming months.
The post China’s Chery cars delayed again for Australia appeared first on Drive.