8:17 am, September 1, 2025
Bosses of Chery UK have admitted that the runaway success of Omoda and Jaecoo models in the UK came as something of a surprise, even to them.
Speaking at the launch of the Chery brand last week in London – the third marque to land here in 12 months – UK CEO Gary Lan described selling cars here as ‘like a dream come true’.
‘I think the UK market, for every car manufacturer, is a dream’, Lan told a panel of journalists. ‘Because it’s a country with 100 years of history of vehicles. You have a most professional, profound customer, and media. So to have our vehicle recognised by you is the best compliment a car manufacturer could have.
‘So to sell the car in the UK is like a dream come true.’
While the UK car market has been described as something of an open goal for Chinese car makers, Lan and his team are resolute that getting products to market here was no mean feat.
‘It took us 20 years of preparation to be here,’ said Lan, ‘not just because of the higher regulation, but the expectation on quality, durability, reliability, it’s the highest in any country.
‘Jaecoo is very well received by UK customers than what we thought. So it’s a happy surprise.’
Omoda and Jaecoo have amassed 81 dealers since they launched back in August 2024, targeting the sort of small dealer group premises that European brands have been gradually terminating in recent years.
Oli Lowe, head of product for Chery UK, singled out these relationships as one of the crucial elements to the brands’ success.
‘So many manufacturers are contracting at the moment. They’re under cost pressures, and they are losing and shedding dealers. And also, a lot of them applied agency [model] to an industry that didn’t ask for it.
‘So we’ve got all these people that have got years and years of experience, of how to manage customers, and they’ve got relationships with those customers, and they’re able to introduce [Omoda and Jaecoo].
‘That’s an excellent way, and that comes with a lot of trust.’
It’s perhaps this success that’s inspired Chery to bring a third brand to these shores, almost a year to the date since it first introduced Omoda and Jaecoo.
Sales of Chery-branded cars kick off this month, with 25 sites across the UK already signed up. These are additional, separate premises to those already occupied by Omoda and Jaecoo – suggesting a substantial range of Chery-branded cars is on the way.
First to arrive are two C-segment SUVs: the Qashqai-sized Tiggo 7, and slightly larger seven-seat Tiggo 8. The former arrives with a list price of £24,995 in petrol form, or under £29,995 as a plug-in hybrid, significantly undercutting the similarly-sized Jaecoo 7.
It’s the plug-in hybrid version of the Jaecoo in particular that’s helped cement the brand, said Lowe – helped significantly by fleet volumes, and a low price point.
‘What I didn’t anticipate was just how successful the plug-in hybrid variant would be of the Jaecoo 7. It’s 70% of our mix, and probably could be higher if we’d got more stock initially.
‘So that was a little bit unexpected. But I was always confident, because if you look at new car buyer surveys, the main reason for purchase is price.’
Along with the Chery Tiggo 7 and 8, the forthcoming Tiggo 4 and 9 SUVs were also revealed at the London launch event.
