You may have noticed Omoda Jaecoo showrooms are starting to pop up around the country, but just what is this unfamiliar auto brand?
Effectively, it’s a sister brand to Chinese brand Chery, and while Omoda Jaecoo vehicles will be sold in separate showrooms, some dealerships will offer both Chery and Omoda Jaecoo franchises.
There’s some overlap between the two brands, but Omoda Jaecoo chief commercial officer Roy Muñoz explained the difference.
“I’d call it next step up from Chery,” he explained to CarExpert.
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Within this new brand, there are vehicles badged just as Jaecoos, with Omoda-badged vehicles to follow. Mr Muñoz says these will complement each other.
“Omoda is more the crossover SUV, whereas the Jaecoos are more the rugged, luxurious SUVs,” he explained.
“So crossover meaning sometimes with the coupe styling, swooping rear roofline.”
Thus far, Omoda Jaecoo offers only the Jaecoo J7 mid-size SUV, a rival for the Toyota RAV4, and the Jaecoo J8 large SUV, a five-seat alternative to the likes of the Kia Sorento.
The J7 lineup opens at $34,990 drive-away, or $5000 more than the current base price of the similarly sized Chery Tiggo 7 Pro.
The Omoda C9, a mid-size SUV, is due on sale here in August, while the Omoda 7 (pictured below) is set to follow at some point.
Officially debuted globally in 2023, Omoda Jaecoo exists only outside of the Chinese market, and is part of a rather confusing export strategy by China’s largest car exporter, with 1.14 million overseas sales in 2024.
For example, Chery already sells its Jetour and Exeed vehicles in markets like the Middle East, and is planning to launch Tiggo – a nameplate used on Chery SUVs – as a standalone brand in Europe, along with new brand Lepas revealed at this year’s Shanghai motor show.
Chery also sells its vehicles under the Chirey nameplate in Mexico, while its electric vehicle (EV) brand iCar will be sold in some markets as iCaur. And no, we don’t know how to pronounce that either.
For now, Chery Australia is sticking to just its namesake and Omoda Jaecoo brands, but it has left the door open for others to follow.
Chery Australia says it isn’t expecting any other brands “in the short term”, but its local communications boss said more could follow.
“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’.” said Chery Australia communications head Tim Krieger.
“But everyone’s 100 per cent focused on those two brands at the moment, making the best of those opportunities.”
Chery only returned to Australia in 2023, before it announced the Jaecoo half of Omoda Jaecoo in 2024, and then announced the Omoda half this year. 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.
MORE: All the new SUVs coming to Australia from Chery and Omoda Jaecoo in 2025