New Chery Omoda 5 and Tiggo 7 Pro SUVs to get better: Chinese car brand commits to making ongoing improvements to models following feedback from Australian owners and media

Chinese carmaker Chery says it is addressing feedback from owners and motoring journalists relating to areas of improvement for its small but growing model range.

Chery re-entered the Australian market early in 2023 with the Omoda 5 small SUV and followed that up in November with the more family-focused Tiggo 7 Pro medium SUV.

Criticism was levelled at the brand following the Omoda 5 launch, with media highlighting deficiencies and quirks relating to some of the active safety features in the Mazda CX-30 rival, specifically the lane-keeping aid.

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Other areas flagged as needing improvement include the throttle response and transmission tune.

But the good news is Chery management in China is listening to this feedback.

Chery Australia Managing Director Lucas Harris told CarsGuide that the new Aussie arm enjoys support from its head office, and is open to making running changes to improve the performance of its models.

Criticism was levelled at the brand following the Omoda 5 launch.

"We obviously listen to feedback from everyone you know, but especially from customers, potential customers who didn't end up purchasing, and of course, people in the media because the feedback, we will never be able to improve without it," he said.

"We are enjoying a huge amount of support from our colleagues in R&D. They've taken a very strong interest in Australia and the level of support and interest that we're getting - we couldn't ask for more to be honest with you. So we're very happy with that."

Harris said that the company is working hard on tuning programs for the advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) in the models.

"We've already started local adaptability programs for things like ADAS as the first round of things. The Tiggo 7 saw the first benefit of that and you can rest assured that we'll continue that through the models that come and we'll continue looking at how we can refine and develop models we've already launched well into the future."

But the good news is Chery management in China is listening to this feedback.

He added that Chery is also working on a program to improve vehicle dynamics, and hinted that one of Chery’s next models to launch is being worked on as we speak.

"Then we're also currently investigating or planning out the dynamic driving element of that. So it's not just steering, suspension, but it's transmission and engine behaviour and those sorts of things too.

"We've got some local partners that we're talking with who are very experienced in the space. And again, a huge amount of interest and support from headquarters. And I might tease you a little bit and say that there's one model that's already started work. I won't share what that is yet.

"So soon, you know, well, not too soon, but I hope that in the not-so-distant future, we'll be able to have that first model on the road with some of that more involved adaptability tuning."

Harris said that the company is working hard on tuning programs for the advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) in the models.

The next couple of models expected from Chery include the Tiggo 8, which is like a seven-seat version of the Tiggo 7, and the electric version of the Omoda 5 - so the vehicle they are testing is almost certainly one of those.

Other Chinese makers including GWM send feedback to their headquarters to push for improvements to their products.

Some manufacturers, like Kia and Hyundai, have gone so far as to have teams of local engineers to help tune models to better suit Australian roads.