New ‘luxury on a budget’ brand arrives in Oz

Another week, another new car brand arrives in Australia. But this one is worth paying attention to.

Jaecoo is the latest newcomer and will aim to establish up to 40 dealers around the country to sell its well-presented SUV range. But Jaecoo is no small fry, it’s part of Chinese automotive giant, Chery, which has already established roots in the Australian market over the past two years.

Chery’s first model was the Omoda 5, and that will also spin-off from and form the second half of the Omoda-Jaecoo premium range across shared showrooms. That will leave the Chery brand to focus on its range of affordable SUVs.

“So our launch network will have separate showrooms to Chery,” explained Ray Munoz, Chery Australia’s chief commercial officer. “It’s a separate brand essentially, so it will have its own representation, its own brand identity and its own customer experience as well.”

Peter Matkin, Chery’s director of engineering for international programs, was in Australia for the launch of the J7 and explained the differences between the three brands that will be sold in Australia from the Chery group.

“ I think the cars have got different characters as well,” Matkin said. “They drive, you know, the Chery is very much… more family orientated, it’s a softer ride. Or when we move to Omoda, it’s much more sporty. And then we move into Jaecoo it’s definitely a higher, [more] premium level than what you see in the other brands… So we’re trying to look for different customers and we’re trying to engineer the cars to have different flavours.”

The first Jaecoo model is the J7, a mid-size SUV that comes with a range of powertrains including a plug-in hybrid (PHEV), dubbed the Super Hybrid System (SHS). But despite the more premium presentation of the Jaecoo models, compared to Chery, and the PHEV powertrain, Jaecoo is still a value-focused brand and the J7 range is priced to compete directly against the likes of the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, Hyundai Tucson Hybrid and BYD Sealion 6 PHEV.

The J7 range begins at $34,990 drive-away for the 2WD Core, while J7 SHS Summit starts at just $47,990 drive-away, undercutting the $48,890 Sealion 6.

The larger Jaecoo J8 is expected to launch before the end of the year, with the smaller J5 SUV also believed to be a likely addition in due course. Omoda will initially launch with the facelifted 5 and E5 electric variant later in 2025 with an expanded range expected in the near-future to fill out the stand-alone showrooms.

“J8 also coming shortly after the J7, Omoda’s got a couple of models that have launched globally and we’ll launch also later this year,” Munoz said. “So there isn’t really a set number. Sort of both brands will have its fair share of models under each. But at this stage, what we can confirm is J7, J8 and as Omoda joins in the second half of the year, it’ll have its own models as well.”