2026 Chery E5 Reviews

The Australian new car market is more competitive than ever before and the 2024 sales charts proved exactly that.It doesn't matter whether you're a legacy brand or a new kid on the block, the electric transition has created ample opportunities for carmakers to thrive – and a considerable number did so this year.So, without further ado, here they are...GWM’s rise to a top-ten brand in 2024 caught many by surprise, though people are quick to forget that this has been a long time coming.As the first Chinese car brand to reach Australian shores in 2009, GWM has evolved considerably from its early ute foundations, with its SUV range now comprising the vast majority of its sales.Specifically, the Haval Jolion, which GWM sold 14,238 of last year – a record for the brand for what is Australia’s second-cheapest hybrid car and 10th most popular in December. We knew BYD was coming, but who expected this?The Chinese Tesla-challenger came big in 2024 with a sales uptick of 64.5 per cent, primarily off the back of the fully-electric Seal and plug-in hybrid Sealion 6 models – which sold 6393 and 6198 units, respectively, in their first year.With the Shark 6 ute and Sealion 7 on its way, who knows, by this time next year we could be calling it a top-ten brand.It was another strong year for Ford which maintained the title of Australia's best-selling vehicle with the Ranger ute. It clocked 62,593 sales in total.Second to it, albeit much further behind, was the Ranger-based Everest SUV, which clocked 26,494 sales for the year – a 75.8 per cent increase on last year.Together they accounted for nearly 90 per cent of Ford's sales, which puts them in a precarious position in 2025 with New Vehicle Efficiency Standards and stiff competition from BYD and GWM on the plug-in hybrid ute front.Australia’s love of Mitsubishi clearly isn’t waning despite the brand lacking an EV.Sales of the Outlander SUV, which is offered in plug-in hybrid guise, skyrocketed in 2024, with 27,613 sales making it the second-best selling medium SUV in the country behind the Toyota RAV4.It is also worth noting that the new-gen Triton had a strong year, with sales up a further 7.6 per cent to 14,737 for the year.There are few things Australians love more than a Toyota.  The Japanese powerhouse grew its sales by 26,056 on last year, with the final tally of 241,296 sales exceeding the volume of both second (Ford) and third (Mazda) places combined. A big chunk of that was off the back of the RAV4, which nearly doubled its sales from 29,627 last year to 58,718. Toyota expects that to grow even further in 2025.HiLux sales retracted by 14.2 per cent in 2024 and are likely to do so again in 2025, but it still performed strongly with 53,499 total sales. Expect some of the slack to be picked up by the brand new Prado this year.The South Korean powerhouse continues its march as one of Australia’s best-selling car brands, increasing its slice of the pie by a further 7.4 per cent in 2024 to 81,787 total sales.Leading its sales was the Kia Sportage with 22,210 sales, a 41.0 per cent increase on the previous year.The Cerato and Carnival models weren’t too far behind at 15,502 and 10,080 sales, respectively.Regardless of challenging times for the brand globally, Nissan had a strong year in Australia, clocking up nearly 6000 more sales this year compared to last.Those were greatly helped by the X-Trail, which had a huge 36 per cent increase in sales year-on-year.Though it's far from the most compelling ute in Australia, the Navara continued to sell relatively well, clocking up 10,063 sales for 2024, a 15.5 per cent increase.So apparently selling super-affordable cars during a cost-of-living crisis was a winning ticket, who would’ve thought?Chery shook things up in 2024 with its very affordable range, which doubled in size. The Omoda 5 reigned supreme, growing its sales from 5370 to 6162.It wasn’t without help from the Tiggo 7 Pro (2734) and the brand new Tiggo 4 Pro (1918) and Tiggo 8 Pro (1789) models, though.Suzuki is proving that you don’t necessarily need a brand new line-up to achieve sales success.As the brand’s most popular model, the Jimny (9697 sales), enters its seventh year, it shows no signs of slowing down, with sales up 93.9 per cent from 2023.The same can be said for the Vitara (2456 sales), which enters its 10th year this year with a 45.6 per cent sales increase on last year.Porsche’s strong year was largely off the back of its petrol Macan model, which is now out of production as the brand transitions to an electric-only Macan range.Expect sales to dip strongly next year.The second- and third-most popular models were the Cayenne and 911, which remain strong market favourites with respective sales increases of 15.5 and 40.3 per cent.While recording a modest sales increase, BMW retained its title as Australia’s best-selling premium brand for the second year running.With 26,341 total sales, BMW saw strong results across its very dynamic line-up, which consists of EVs, plug-in hybrids, mild-hybrids, petrol and diesel.Notable models were the electric i4 sedan, which saw a staggering 484.1 per cent increase on last year, along with the new X2, which saw a 565 per cent increase.It sounds big on paper, but the 16.1 per cent increase only equates to 600 sales from 3703 in 2023 to 4303 in 2024.Not to downplay it, though, it's a strong result for Chevrolet which sells its cheapest car in Australia – the Silverado LTZ 1500 premium – for $130,500, before on-road costs.

Having expanded its line-up from one model to four, on the way to huge year-on-year sales growth in 2024 (+114 per cent), Chery Australia has confirmed it is bringing no less than three hybrid SUVs to the local market around the middle of this year.

There are now more Chinese cars in Australia than ever before, and yet there are more which haven't arrived yet which would almost certainly find an audience.

Many so-called “all-new” models aren’t all that new. In fact, a sizeable chunk are reskinned versions of what came before, with fresh sheetmetal over the same general hard points.

Zeekr is the first Chinese premium brand to launch in Australia, but by the end of 2025 it will be far from the only option.

The trend of range-extender hybrids is showing no signs of slowing down in China, with Chery – under its sub-brand Exceed – the latest automaker to join the party.It’s called the Exlantix ET and it's a full-sized family SUV built on Chery’s brand new E0X platform which is set to underpin a suite of future hybrid and electric vehicles, including some from Jaguar Land Rover.This particular model uses a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine with a peak power of 115kW/220Nm and a 41.16kWh battery pack.Together, they provide current to two electric motors positioned on the front and rear axle which deliver 150kW/324Nm and 195kW/324Nm, respectively.The hefty power outputs see the Elantix ET rocket from 0-100km/h in just 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 195km/h. Not bad for a nearly two-and-a-half-tonne car.Total range is claimed at 1500km, 240km of which is available in pure-electric mode, according to the lenient CLTC cycle.The Exlantix's 400-volt architecture reportedly delivers a charge time from 10 per cent to 80 per cent in just 17.5 minutes.Measuring up at 4955mm long, 1975mm wide, 1698mm tall and with a wheelbase of 3000mm, the Elantix ET is larger than a Kia Sorento but not quite as vast as a Hyundai Palisade.We don’t know at this stage whether it will compete Down Under with those South Korean rivals, particularly as Chery gears up to launch its more off-road focused Jaecoo sub-brand in early 2025.CarsGuide has contacted Chery for comment to determine if and when we might see the offshoot locally. An update to the story will follow with a response.In terms of design, the Elantix ET screams Chery Omoda E5 at the front, evidenced by its thin LED headlights and larger fog lamps on the lower bumper.Given its bigger size, though, the rest of the body appears to be more Range Rover influenced, particularly in its sleek body panelling and retractable door handles.There’s also a bit of Porsche Cayenne about the rear three quarter, particularly in the rear fastback styling and LED lightbar.Inside, the Elantix ET gets a 10.25-inch floating digital driver’s display and a 15.6-inch central multimedia touchscreen, a 23-speaker sound system and 256 ambient lighting colours.There is a huge panoramic sunshade and AI voice assistant controls, while the front and rear passenger seats are heated and ventilated.According to CarNewsChina, Prices will commence at 239,800 Yuan ($51,765) for the bottom-spec Max, 269,800 Yuan ($58,241) for the mid-range Ultra and 289,800 Yuan ($62,588) for the top-spec Premium.

MG's parent company announces second-gen solid state tech before its first-gen batteries are even on sale.

Australia’s independent assessor of vehicle safety, ANCAP, has awarded a maximum five star rating to the MG HS and electric Chery Omoda E5.ANCAP said the MG HS was tested according to the body’s latest safety protocols, while the five-star rating of the existing Chery Omoda 5 – which is according to 2022 Protocols – was extended to cover the electric variant.The MG HS’ strongest test results were found in the Adult Occupant Protection category, where it scored a 90 per cent rating. This was achieved by full points awarded in the side impact, oblique pole, whiplash protection and far-side impact tests.A score of 87 per cent was also achieved for Child Occupant Protection with protection of critical body regions rated as ‘Good’.The HS’ performance in Vulnerable Road User Protection also scored well, achieving an 83 per cent score that was backed up by well-performing advanced driver assistance systems in car-to-motorcycle crash scenarios, such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB).Having said that, the performance of AEB back over, the system that detects pedestrians when reversing, was rated as ‘Marginal’, with the 'Driver Assist' category delivering the HS' lowest score out of the four testing categories of 73 per cent.ANCAP’s CEO, Carla Hoorweg, said MG was continuing to showcase its safety credentials.“The previous generation MG HS achieved a five-star result against 2019 criteria. Our protocols have been upgraded twice since then, so it is positive to see MG continue to invest in the safety of the HS”, said Hoorweg.While carrying over the petrol Omoda 5’s five-star rating, the Chery Omoda E5 stood up under some additional testing – such as front offset and oblique pole crash tests – to confirm its safety performance as well as the integrity of its high-voltage battery in a crash scenario.“This five-star rating for the Omoda E5 will be a welcome addition to the shopping lists of consumers and fleets in the market for a five-star EV,” said Hoorweg.Interested buyers can check out the full details of the safety report on the MG HS and Chery Omoda E5 at ANCAP’s website here.

Chery teases the future of its electric vehicles, with a new solid-state-powered shooting brake.

It feels like every Chinese brand is coming to Australia, but there are plenty more than could make a big impact Down Under.