Over the past few years, the Chery headquarters in Wuhu have repeatedly discussed the market launch in Europe. It should now be in 2024, after the first models have been available in Italy since 2021 and the European headquarters near Frankfurt were inaugurated in 2018. The Chinese car company has been China’s most successful car exporter for 20 years. In 2022 alone, more than a third of the more than 1.2 million vehicles produced were shipped all over the world. According to its own specifications, the number of 450,000 export vehicles is expected to double this year by expanding its range of products into new regions. After Chery initially concentrated on the smaller individual markets such as Australia, New Zealand, South America or Africa, the general attack on Europe is now scheduled to take place in 2024 after Turkey or Israel. Chery Automobiles is the division of Chery Holding from Anhui Province with the highest sales. Chery is considered particularly effective in Chinese competition because the car manufacturer has over 5,500 people working in development alone who are proud of more than 20,000 patents.
The current global production network of 14 locations is to be expanded to include new production facilities all over the world in the coming years. Chery operates the largest safety and crash test center in Asia at its headquarters. The Chery Omoda SUV has just been awarded a five-star rating in the Euro NCAP test. “We can provide security,” explains Jochen Tüting, head of development and managing director of Chery Europe GmbH, “the times when vehicles manufactured in China could not keep up with European competitors are long gone.” The Chinese European headquarters with the corresponding design and The development center is located in Raunheim, Hesse.
Chery now wants to officially launch in Europe next year. Unlike other manufacturers, Chery does not focus exclusively on electric cars with brands such as Omoda or Jaecoo, but also wants to offer combustion engines and hybrid models, with sales taking place via a classic dealer network. In Germany, the focus is particularly on the Omoda 5, which is already available as a 4.64 meter long compact class sedan in regions such as South and Central America or Russia. The Omoda C5 SUV / O5 is a compact class crossover on the same basis, which is offered as a purely electric model with 150 kW / 204 hp and with a 1.5 / 1.6 liter turbo gasoline engine. Here it produces 108 kW / 147 HP or 145 kW / 197 HP. The 4.40 meter long Omoda 5 is intended to compete against Chinese import competition as well as against European models from Peugeot, Renault or Cupra, although it is only offered as a petrol all-wheel drive vehicle in selected markets; All other variants are front-wheel drive with an electric motor, CVT automatic or seven-speed dual clutch transmission. The base price should be just under 30,000 euros from the second quarter of 2024. An SUV with an angular off-road design will follow in the summer with the Jaecoo 7, which will also be available on the same platform with the 1.6-liter gasoline engine and a plug-in hybrid variant. Charlie Zhang: “We want to convince with emotions and a fair price.”
Both models celebrated their world premieres at Auto China in Shanghai last April. As an electric version, the Omoda 5 can travel up to 450 kilometers on a single battery charge. A plug-in hybrid is also being discussed, which in the medium term will be able to drive up to 200 kilometers without having to go to the charging station. Its own goals are ambitious: Chery wants to sell 1.4 million Omoda and Jaecoo vehicles worldwide every year by 2030. “We are growing like a helicopter,” beams Charlie Zhang, Chery Automobile International Executive Vice President.
