8:00 am, September 8, 2024
Chinese car maker Chery is rapidly rolling out its Omoda and Jaecoo models in the UK – and boss Victor Zhang has declared dealers are ‘one of the most important pillars’ of the business.
With a shipment of 500 Omoda 5 models arriving in the UK and cars already being delivered to customers, Zhang reiterated the importance of the dealer network to the business in an exclusive interview with Car Dealer.
‘I think it’s one of our strengths here that we have made a lot of effort to get so many dealerships across the country,’ said Zhang.
‘We have signed up 80 now, but not everyone is open because some are still in construction. Our target is 100 by the end of this year, but I think realistically speaking, I think maybe 80 to 90 will be good enough this year.
‘Maybe we can sign with 100, but as you know, not everyone can open the door.’
Zhang said that he wanted Omoda and Jaecoo customers to enjoy the full dealer experience rather than buy online.
Asked if customers would be able to transact on the firm’s website, Zhang said: ‘Not yet, no, we haven’t considered that.
‘We will still want people to go through their dealers because online means you have a totally different system.
‘For us, I think we should make our dealers happy, and we just want to encourage the dealer to do all these things.’
Following on from the Omoda 5, Zhang confirmed that Omoda 3, 7 and 9 models would go on sale over the next couple of years.
Jaecoo’s first model, the J7 with its innovative PHEV system, will arrive in December, with a Jaecoo J5 arriving next year and J3 and J9 models also under consideration.
When it comes to the difference between mainstream brand Omoda and more upmarket Jaecoo models in the showrooms, Zhang promised that customers would get a very different experience from both brands.
‘If you look at the showroom itself, the decoration will be totally different in separate areas, although maybe with one main entrance,’ said Zhang.
‘Firstly, from your physical observation, the hardware, it will be distinctive from each other. And also, every material you will touch, or you will see – we will have two TV screens on the walls.
‘So, all the documents, all the content messaging are all totally different. And the sofas and chairs; the floor will be totally different.
‘Salespeople will also be different – we’ll have a dedicated one for Omoda and a dedicated one for Jaecoo.
‘Maybe some back office functions like service and finance administration don’t need to be so separate, but in front of the customer, even the dress code will be different – we will do it a different way.
‘Every customer journey will also be different, we’ll have an Omoda website, but we also have a Jaecoo website.’
Zhang revealed that his company would be transparent with dealers when it comes to selling EVs, which are currently a hard sell to private buyers.
He added: ‘The dealers are okay to sell EVs without making a lot of money. They know that selling petrol will make money, but if they want to do petrol to earn some money, of course they have to share the burden of the EV. We try to encourage the dealer to do both.
‘We will make it clear, and we’ll be very transparent communicating to every dealer that this is the approach.
‘I think this is not just us, I think every OEM is the same. Now if you look at the competitors like Asian brands or even the European brands, they’re all crazy discounting.’
Zhang’s new fleet teams will help to share the burden of selling EVs so that ZEV Mandate fines are avoided.
‘We will do more fleet next year,’ said Zhang.
‘A little bit more this year, maybe retail is more. But the next year you cannot ignore fleet, so that’s why we also have a fleet team now and they are working with those big leasing rental companies.’
Dealers are also set to become a differentiator for Omoda and Jaecoo in the battle against existing rivals, added Zhang.
He said: ‘For a newcomer to compete, I think firstly we want to bring a better service or after-sale service in every touch point – we want to do everything correctly in the very beginning.
‘Of course, we have to train the dealers, so we hope that every dealership that we have is offering the best service experience to the customer. So, this is something we have prepared ourselves for in the long term.
‘A lot haven’t sold any cars yet, but we already have the DHL [parts] warehouse, we have trained every dealer, they have the knowledge and the expertise.
With everything in place, Zhang is expecting to be able to rival Hyundai and Kia with around 80,000 sales per year. But by when?
‘I hope three to five years,’ said Zhang. ‘We can be there. So, if we can really do that it will be a big success for a new brand.’
