The Omoda 5 is the first vehicle from Chery’s new fashion-focused export brand; BEV, ICE, and PHEV models will follow.
According to Autocar, the new Omoda 5 crossover from Chinese automaker Chery will be launched in the UK in early 2024 as the first of several models from a new ‘fashion’-focused and EV-biased brand at the forefront of the company’s worldwide expansion.
Last year, Chery was China’s most successful automotive export brand, selling 450,000 vehicles in Asia, Australia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.
It is best known in the UK as Jaguar Land Rover‘s Chinese joint-venture partner, producing the Range Rover Evoque, Land Rover Discovery Sport, Jaguar XF, and Jaguar XE for the domestic market.
It is now one of many Chinese companies expanding into Europe. As rival Great Wall Motor has done with Ora, it will release a new brand designed with style, technology, and sustainability in mind here.
Bio element and fashion focus
It’s called Omoda, with the ‘O’ representing “the bio element we need” and the’moda’ indicating the brand’s fashion focus. It’ll release in the UK in 2022 after first hitting the Chinese, Indonesian, Australian, and New Zealand markets.
The first model in the UK will be the Omoda 5, a mid-sized crossover with a choice of pure-electric or petrol power.
Chery says Omoda will be a BEV-focused brand in the UK, but Autocar acknowledges that the ICE car will be available first.
The fuel-burning choices for the UK have yet to be confirmed. Still, in Australia, the Omoda 5 is available with either a naturally aspirated 1.5-liter mild-hybridized four-cylinder unit driving the front axle or a 1.6-liter turbo four-cylinder producing 195bhp and 214 lb-ft.
The EV’s specifications are also unknown, but reports suggest it has a front-mounted motor with 198bhp and 295 lb-ft of torque, a 64kWh battery, and a WLTP range of 280 miles – figures that would put it in direct competition with the Toyota bZ4X and Nissan Ariya.
While precise specifications have yet to be confirmed, the brand highlights standard features such as dual-zone climate control, improved driver assistance features, wireless charging, and ‘atmospheric’ interior lighting.
Affordable and competitive pricing
A brand representative told Autocar that the Omoda 5 would be “affordable and competitive” when asked for a price. Based on the cars it will inevitably be compared to, a fee of around £45,000 seems reasonable.
Omoda expects 10,000 annual sales in the UK for the five and promises “several new models” with a choice of ICE, PHEV, and BEV powertrains to follow – though BEVs will be the primary focus.
How the Omoda brand will be sold and advertised in the United Kingdom is still being determined. “Chery has close and furthered collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover in China as a joint-venture business with a successful sales record, so the UK is not a market unknown to Chery,” the company stated.
However, the company needed to provide more information about its retail footprint or sales model strategies.
