Watch out Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi: Chery’s Omoda and Jaecoo sister brands are coming for your customers.
That’s according to Chery Motor Australia chief commercial officer Roy Munoz, who says the automaker’s more premium offerings are tempting Australians to trade in their European luxury models for a Chinese replacement.
More specifically, Mr Munoz told CarExpert that buyers are crossing over to get behind the wheel of the Jaecoo J8 large SUV and Omoda 9 plug-in hybrid flagship.
“I tend to look at what type of trade-ins we get on the vehicle, and for the J8 and Omoda 9 model lines we’re getting a lot of people from the premium segment, so coming down from Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz,” he explained.
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“You’ve got your traditional trade-ins from legacy volume brands as well… it’s whoever finds the brand appealing.
“We certainly look at who our competitors are in the same segments at similar price points and try to target those customers first. But sometimes when you go fishing, you’re after one particular type of fish but you keep catching another.
“We look at industry data as well, but for me the best gauge is the trade-ins we’re getting.”
The Jaecoo J8 and Omoda 9 both sit in the large SUV segment, which is also occupied by the BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class, and Audi Q7.
However, the pricing gulf between these alleged competitors is substantial. The J8 tops out at $54,990 drive-away and the Omoda 9 comes in at $61,990 drive-away – around half the price of the cheapest German alternative.
Despite that, the Jaecoo and Omoda SUVs have combined for 880 deliveries this year, less than the X5 (3328 deliveries), GLE-Class (2307), and Q7 (1201).
That said, neither the J8 nor the Omoda 9 have been on sale for the full year, instead arriving in June and August, respectively.
Chery isn’t the only Chinese manufacturer seeking to challenge established premium marques in Australia. BYD and MG have both launched additional ‘luxury’ brands this year (Denza and IM respectively), while the CEO of Xpeng’s Australian distributor TrueEV recently told CarExpert: “I think with the quality of the car, it’s definitely a premium brand.”
The most expensive Chinese vehicle available in Australia is currently the Zeekr 009 electric people mover, which is priced at $139,900 before on-road costs in top-shelf six-seat all-wheel drive specification.