Omoda&Jaecoo, Chery Auto’s Chinese group arrives in Italy

Written by
Editorial board

il

26 March 2024

The news is not new but the event is now close: the Chinese car giant Cherry ready to land in Italy with the brand Omoda&Jaecoo. Against all odds, it will do so by launching as its first model a compact SUV with a traditional endothermic engine, which will be followed, in the coming months, by a fully electric version.

Method 5 e Omoda 5EVpresented on March 21 and 22 in Milan, will be positioned at the top of the market, challenging European brands in the field of recommendations for drivers under 40 years old.

The strategy has already been tested well at home and has also achieved success in exports to South East Asia, Russia and South America, Brazil and Mexico first of all.

Among the major Chinese car companies, the Chery group is actually the most oriented towards foreign markets: a record achieved due to 600 thousand cars exported in 2023with a large total amount: last year, the group sold more than 1.8 million vehicles, with a total turnover of 42.25 billion dollars and a growth of 50% over the previous year.

The triumph of the European front, where Italy is the second landing country after Spain, will also be able to rely on the second brand: in 2024. Suv Jaecoo 7, designed for more mature customers with greater economic access. A plug-in version with a 19 kWh battery and 100 km of declared autonomy in electric mode will be added to the turbo petrol traction.

Both proposals are characterized by a good price-quality ratio, according to the “money for value” philosophy: official prices have not yet been announced, but should be less than 30 thousand euros for Omoda and less than 40 thousand euros for Jaecoo.

“These are international products, but they have been created with the intention of increasing the participation of European design, through Chery’s research and development center located in Frankfurt”, he explains. Francesco Cremonesi, General Manager of Relations and Communications Italy at Chery International.

A strategy that works for the group’s vision, which does not treat the old continent as a territory of conquest, but aims to promote recognition and appreciation of the brand. And that finds a different element in the distribution model.

“Unlike many Western brands, we have chosen to develop the network by entering into agreements with high-quality national and local businesses, leading companies rooted in the region, with trust and respect.

The construction of the network, which required less than one year of work, can currently count on 25 partner companies, with a total of 40 sales outlets throughout the country. We consider the Internet as an absolute priority resource, together with the hot technological know-how of the brand, which is very important in the area of ​​electricity distribution”, he concludes. Cremonese.