Chinese automaker Chery is coming to Switzerland in 2024

Chinese brand Chery is coming in 2024

Ready for Switzerland

After a failed test in 2017, Chinese carmaker Chery is preparing to launch in Europe and Switzerland. Six models should be available by 2026 – electric, but also with combustion engines.

Posted: December 22, 2023 at 2:00 am

Updated: January 5, 2024 at 2:14 am

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There were already plans six years ago – but they are just being implemented: The Chinese car manufacturer Chery will start in Europe and also in Switzerland in 2024.

Andreas FaustHead of Car and Mobility

Some fruits can only be harvested late. Six years ago, the Chinese car manufacturer Chery wanted to cross the borders of Europe with the Exeed TX SUV. Nothing happened. But in 2024 the time will come: Chery is ready to launch in Europe, with a new strategy and two brands.

Spain starts in January, Germany follows in mid-summer and Switzerland probably shortly after. A new beginning in a total of 27 European countries in just twelve months – Jochen Tüting (49) has to handle this big task. After 13 years at Ford, the German joined Chery in China in 2013 and has headed the European branch in Raunheim (D) since 2018. “Here at the development center we adapt models to European tastes and local regulations,” he says.

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First with oil, then electricity

Chinese giants like Landwind and Brilliance once had problems, especially with accident rates: “But that’s long gone.” Chinese standards cannot differ from those valid in Europe. In addition, the German TÜV even advises manufacturers in China on the website. “Our cars meet European standards with minor modifications,” says Tüting. However: “In China there are only two ways to drive: in traffic or go straight on the highway at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour.” So models need to be modified to be more active – and he is currently working on this with a team of 50 people.

Together with Omoda and Jaecoo, Chery launches two brands at once – the first is youthful and sporty, the last is in the direction of road users. But both start with SUVs: the Omoda 5 comes with a 186 hp (137 kW) turbo gasoline engine and will be electrified later; For Jaecoo 7, a plug-in hybrid will be added later for the same combustion engine. But are other new service providers from China relying solely on electric vehicles? “We are not the beginning,” emphasizes Tüting. Chery has been developing gasoline engines since it started 26 years ago – and the charging infrastructure in important markets for the brand, such as Spain, is still very common: “Switzerland may be very far ahead in terms of the charging network, but we have to keep an eye Europe as a whole.”

Marketing instead of the Internet

Chery is also carefully approaching sales with local dealers rather than online sales. “We want to build trust,” Tüting says, and that can only be done with presence. The group has been doing well with this strategy so far. While its Chinese rival BYD may be the world’s largest producer of electric cars, Chery is China’s auto export champion: nearly a third of the 1.2 million cars built in 2022 were delivered outside the country’s borders.

In large markets, sales companies own Chery imports in smaller markets such as Switzerland, Tüting wants to cooperate with local importers. Discussions are still ongoing, he insists, but looking at the map and the 80 markets in which Chery is already represented shows that in Chile, Bolivia and Peru, for example, there is already a relationship with Astara, Switzerland’s number three importer.

Omoda 5 and Jaecoo 7 should impress with design, technology and quality rather than budget prices. Sounds like a recipe for Skoda. But Tüting also points to Kia and Hyundai – what the two South Korean brands have achieved, Chery can also do, only in a hurry. Base prices of around 28,000 francs for the Omoda 5 and around 30,000 francs for the Jaecoo 7 should still help.

Chinese brand Chery is coming in 2024 Ready for Switzerland

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Chinese brand Chery is coming in 2024

Ready for Switzerland