Chery targets Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson with new premium Chinese car brand led by 2025 Jaecoo J7 family SUV

Chinese brand Chery has announced it will launch its premium sub-brand, Jaecoo, in Australia this year and spearhead its arrival with the J7 mid-sized SUV to take on the likes of Kia’s Sportage and Hyundai’s Tucson.

The announcement comes only 12 months after Chery re-entered the Australian market with its Omoda 5 small SUV, before following that up with the launch of its Tiggo 7 Pro mid-size SUV in December last year.

Now the brand is continuing its aggressive push into Australia, with Jaecoo hoping to offer a refined and premium model line-up to sit alongside the more affordable Chery range. The J7 will lead the charge when it arrives in the second half of 2024.

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“We are delighted to announce that the Jaecoo brand will be coming to Australia,” said Jaecoo Australia’s Managing Director, Lucas Harris. 

“And we look forward to introducing this exciting new brand to Australian consumers, which is setting new standards for luxury and versatility in sports utility vehicles.”

The J7 which is close in size to the Tiggo 7 Pro will be the first SUV to wear the Jaecoo badge in Australia. Measuring 4500mm long, 1865mm wide and 1680mm tall makes the J7 about 260mm shorter than Kia Sportage and Hyundai’s Tucson.

We first caught sight of the J7 when Jaecoo made its official debut at the 2023 Shanghai Motor show. The J7 we’ll get in Australia will of course be right-hand drive but have the same sleek and prestigious looks.

Measuring 4500mm long, 1865mm wide and 1680mm tall makes the J7 about 260mm shorter than Kia Sportage and Hyundai’s Tucson.

An enormous grille lined with vertical chrome slats flanked by high-positioned LED running lights sitting above LED headlights makes for a confronting and modern face. Flush-mounted slide-out door handles will also make it onto the Australian model.

A coupe-like profile with a raised rear end gives the J7 gives hints of Range Rover’s Evoque, along with the tail-lights and their interesting patterned LED design.

A minimalist and premium five-seat cabin with dark materials and LED ambient lighting is dominated by a large 14.8-inch portrait media display.

Jaecoo has also attracted some big automotive names to work on its SUVs, with former Jaguar chief engineer Peter John Matkin and ex-Mercedes-Benz chief designer Chris Rhoades joining the brand.

A minimalist and premium five-seat cabin with dark materials and LED ambient lighting is dominated by a large 14.8-inch portrait media display.

The J7 Australia will see is likely to be powered by the same 145kW/290Nm 1.6-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine found in the Tiggo 7 Pro.

We can also expect advanced safety features such as AEB and lane-keeping assistance along with 10 airbags.    

While Range Rover probably won’t have much to worry about in terms of competition, Kia and Hyundai have been put on notice with Chery making it public that both leading Korean manufacturers are in its sights not just in Australia but globally with plans even for a factory in the United Kingdom.

A coupe-like profile with a raised rear end gives the J7 gives hints of Range Rover’s Evoque, along with the tail-lights and their interesting patterned LED design.

“We're finding a lot of people who are moving to our brand are coming from two sources - Kia and Hyundai,” Chery’s Head of UK Operations, Victor Zhang, told the Financial Times in January. 

“They tend to have been previous owners of those or considering those they come to us, and people who have downgraded from European cars, surprisingly.”

The UK plant isn't expected to be built until 2030 but this could be where future right-hand-drive Jaecoos are sourced for Australia.

For now the J7 will be built and exported from China and join a growing presence of affordable brands from the same country including GWM, MG and LDV.