Chery News

Ready or not, there is a new world order coming to the Australian new car market. The established order at the top of the sales charts is set to change dramatically in the near-future as local buyers continue to embrace the Chinese car brands.Like Japanese and Korean cars that came before, the initial backlash has given way to widespread acceptance and analysing the sales trends from recent years makes it clear that several of the leading Chinese brands are on the verge of cracking the top five in sales in 2026.But, as Newton’s Third Law of Motion tells us, for every action there is an equal or opposite reaction, which means brands that have been firmly ensconced in the top five on the sales charts will drop out.So, who will be the lucky Chinese brand to crack the upper echelon first? And which more established brand is most likely to drop out?For the first question there are two stand-out candidates and two more wild card options. GWM and BYD are the current leaders of the Chinese brands, finishing in seventh and eighth place on the 2025 sales charts. That’s a rise from 10th and 15th in ‘24, as GWM enjoyed a very healthy 23.4 per cent increase in sales last year, while BYD managed a staggering 156.2 per cent increase. But that wasn’t the biggest growing Chinese brand. That title belongs to Chery, which just missed out on a top 10 sales finish with 34,889 sales in 25, which was a massive 176.8 per cent growth on the previous year. And those figures don’t include the 3721 Omoda and Jaecoo sales. The final wild card is MG, which notched 41,298 sales in ‘25 but suffered a 18.4 per cent decline and fell from seventh to 10th on the charts. MG will need a dramatic turnaround but has installed new management specifically to address that problem.GWM and BYD are the clear-priced favourites to upset the order and put more pressure on the likes of Hyundai, Kia and Mazda in ‘26 and beyond. Both are investing in expanded line-ups, while GWM is going a step further and locally-tuning its new models to even further appeal to Australian customers.So who is the brand under the most threat of a sales ladder fall? Hyundai finished in fifth place in ‘25, but that was a clear improvement on ‘24, with the brand enjoying 7.7 per cent sales growth.Kia was next up, but was effectively neutral last year, reporting less than one per cent (0.4%) sales growth. Given this came despite the addition of the highly-anticipated Tasman ute, that’s not a positive result for the brand and puts more pressure on in ‘26.Mazda claimed third place, but suffered a 4.2 per cent sales decline, however, with sales over 90,000 units it can probably be considered fairly safe unless there is a dramatic change in the near-future.For either GWM or BYD to jump into the top five sellers they will need to add more than 25,000 sales. While that’s undoubtedly a huge jump, BYD actually attracted more than 31,000 new customers in 2025 - so it’s not impossible. Especially as it will add four models full-time this year - Atto 1, Atto 2, Sealion 5 and Sealion 8.So, while Toyota is likely to stay comfortably ahead of everyone else, the rest of the established order is up for grabs as Australian customers embrace these new brands and put pressure on the bigger names.

Xiaomi’s updated SU7 electric sedan launches this April in China and while the order numbers are enormous there’s another huge figure grabbing people’s attention - its 900km-plus driving range.The order books for Xiaomi’s new SU7 opened on January 7, 2026 and within two weeks nearly 100,000 pre-orders have been taken. That’s big even for the Chinese market, which sees 34 millions cars sold in a year. But part of the drive in sales is the massive leap in spec for the SU7 particularly when it comes to driving range.Pricing in China for the entry grade SU7 starts at the equivalent of A$46,500, an increase of $2800 over the hugely popular outgoing model.The SU7 now has a range of 902km (CLTC), up from 830km in the previous model. CLTC (China Light Duty Vehicle Test Cycle) criteria isn’t as strict or real-world applicable as the WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Duty Vehicle Test Procedure) rating which is generally about 18 per cent less. Still, even if the SU7’s WLTP range is about 750km that would still see it beat the best electric long-haulers the world currently has to offer including the Polestar 3 Long Range Single Motor with its 706km and Tesla’s Model 3 Long Range AWD with 629km.The longer range of the new SU7 is reportedly not due to a larger battery (a 101.7kWh battery capacity remains in the top grade model), but is down to a new silicon carbide platform in 752V and 897V forms which return improved efficiency.Other upgrades for the new SU7 include more advanced driving assistance systems, laser radar, and 700 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second) AI computing power for autonomous driving functions.Xiaomi has yet to launch in Australia with the company likely to enter the European market first in 2027 and then the rest of the world including Australia. Right now, the fledgling tech-brand-turned-automaker's factory capacity is exceeded for over a year with back orders for both the SU7 and its YU7 SUV sibling, both of which have created massive hype in China's domestic market.If and when Xiaomi makes it here, the sporty Chinese marque would join a multitude of new brands in Australia with electric vehicles over the past two years.The SU7 would go up against rivals such as the BYD Seal and MG’s IM5, as well as the ever-popular Tesla Model 3.Xiaomi isn’t the only brand coming up with super long-range EVs with Chery also recently announcing progress on solid state batteries which it claims will offer up to 1500km of driving range on a single charge.

Chery’s Rely commercial division has revealed pricing and specifications for its electric dual-cab ute in China, the R08 EV.

Only a few years ago a budget-focused new car story like this would have well and truly dipped under the magical $20,000 threshold.But, the sad news is there’s just a single new car option left standing in the Aussie market wearing a five figure price tag that starts with a one.And that’s the entry-grade Kia Picanto Sport with a five-speed manual gearbox at $19,190, before on-road costs. Tick the box for the four-speed automatic transmission and all of a sudden you’re at $20,790, BOC.So, we’ve raised the new car budget bar to $25,000 and looked at the five most popular models with an entry-price under $25K from 2025 full-year sales.1) Chery Tiggo 4 Pro - From $23,990, before on-road costsTalk about an impressive entrance. Chery lobbed a hand grenade into the budget end of the small SUV segment in late 2024, with the Tiggo 4 Pro’s first full year sales exceeding 20,000 units in 2025.Two versions of the compact five-seater are offered locally, the Urban and Ultimate, each available in pure-combustion and petrol-electric hybrid form.2) MG MG3 - From $21,990, drive-awayWith competition from new challenger brands intensifying and the MG model line-up growing, the MG3 dipped in terms of year-on-year sales but still did enough to grab second spot under $25K with more than 8000 examples finding a new home.Three grades are offered here - Vibe, Excite & Essence - pure-petrol in all three with the option of hybrid in the upper two.  3) Hyundai Venue - From 23,000, before on-road costsNow a veteran of the ‘light’ SUV category the city-sized Venue remains a strong seller in Hyundai’s small car portfolio.In fact, sales were up a solid 14.1 per cent in 2025 to 7927. The range starts with the entry-grade at $23K, before on-road costs, with the Active and Elite above it. 4) Kia Picanto - From $19,190, before on-road costsA popular choice among city dwellers, the diminutive Picanto also ticked up in total year-on-year sales for 2025 to 7166.Sadly for micro car Verstappen wannabes the 1.0L turbo GT is a thing of the past, but the top-tier GT-Line Picanto brings some of its racy personality to the party. 5) Suzuki Swift Hybrid - From 24,490, drive-awayThe fourth-generation Swift has taken mild-hybrid form with its 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine featuring an enhanced starter/generator/electric motor picking up some of the slack in terms of powering the stop-start system and adding 60Nm of torque.Sales were down in 2025 to 3446, but there were still enough buyers to land the latest version of the city car icon in fifth spot.   Australian Top 5 sellers under $25,000:  

Chery Australia has confirmed a full hybrid version of its compact C5 SUV will launch here in the middle of the year.This news follows confirmation the car will also be offered in the UK, marketed as the Omoda 5 SHS-H, from March this year.Powered by a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine working in concert with a single electric motor the newcomer sends a combined 150kW to the front wheels through a ‘Dedicated Hybrid Transmission’ (DHT).The combination of a 1.83kWh battery and 51-litre fuel tank delivers a claimed driving range in excess of 1000km thanks to combined cycle (urban/extra-urban) fuel economy figure of 4.4L/100km (WLTP).Claimed 0-100km/h acceleration is a sharp 7.9 seconds and cosmetic changes include an all-new front grille and bumper and fresh alloy wheel designs.Local pricing and specification is yet to be confirmed but it will be offered in two grades in the UK - Knight and Noble — with pricing starting from the equivalent of around $50,800, drive-away, rising to $57,700 d/a. Expect it to be much cheaper in Australia due to reduced export cost thanks to our proximity to China, and the UK's historically high new car prices.The entry-level spec for that market includes 18-inch alloy wheels, full LED lighting, dual 12.3-inch digital displays, wireless  Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, intelligent voice control and a full suite of advanced driver assistance and safety systems.The flagship model adds a surround-view camera, eight-speaker Sony audio, ambient interior lighting, heated and ventilated front seats and more.The new hybrid variant will join the existing pure-combustion Chery C5 and pure-electric E5 to set up a three-pronged attack against the hotly contested small SUV segment.The new model will be competing with the Nissan Qashqai e-Power (from $47,165, BOC), Hyundai Kona Hybrid ($36,950) and Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid (from $37,440).

The Freelander name will be revived in 2026 as Chery and Jaguar Land Rover re-shape their partnership, according to Car News China. It is expected the brand’s first car will be a large seven-seat SUV available with electric and range-extender set-ups. The Freelander has been confirmed for a launch in the Middle East in 2026, with no other regions outside of China officially confirmed at this stage. There is no news on whether the Freelander will wind up in Australia, but if it does, it would be another hybrid rival to the BYD Sealion 8, Chery Tiggo 8 and MG QS. This will be Chery Jaguar Land Rover partnership's first car sold outside of China. The news was revealed after Chery invited public tenders for a marketing agency to create the core visual assets, among other things for the launching Freelander.While bearing the Freelander name, it has been speculated that it will feature Chery’s Exeed brand’s EOX platform. This lends to the likelihood of the Freelander being available in electric and range-extender variants, as on Exeed Star Era ET, which uses the same platform. Freelander-branded cars have already been spotted in China during 2025 road tests of the vehicles. The car features a familiar Land Rover look, with a similar grille and light cluster along with sleek roof design. The Freelander name first started as a Land Rover model alongside other well-known examples such as the Discovery and the Defender. The Freelander project was officially announced in mid-2024 as an electric-only and China-exclusive model.It now looks like plans have changed with the Middle East confirmed for the Freelander brand. We could get our first look at the Freelander as early as April at the Beijing Auto Show. 

A game-changing battery technology is just around the corner.Chery’s has revealed more details of its solid state battery set-up, according to Car News China. It will feature on its Exeed Liefeng shooting brake model, offering a potential driving range of 1500km.The car falls under the Exeed branch of Chery, and has been earmarked for a launch in 2026, after a prototype of its battery was first unveiled late last year.Solid state batteries are touted as the future for electric vehicles and will delete range anxiety.They can achieve far superior energy density than conventional batteries, and could be more durable and safer. They use a different mechanical separator and ion conductor between the anode and cathode that is not a liquid or gel.The Liefeng is expected to use Chery’s Rhino S solid state battery, which has a claimed energy density reaching an astonishing 600Wh per kilogram. Even the most energy dense batteries are only capable of about 250Wh currently, highlighting the breakthrough nature of Chery's new technology.The battery is claimed to be able to perform reliably in temperatures as low as minus-30 degrees.The car will feature 800-volt charging architecture, and can sprint from 0-100km/h in less than three seconds with a top speed of 260km/h.Chery has persisted with solid state batteries despite other manufacturers ruling them out as a future battery technology at least in the short term. North American car making giant General Motors said in October 2025 that it had no plans to adopt the technology, citing it was still years away.Some manufacturers have been more receptive to solid state potential, such as major Chinese car manufacturer Dongfeng. Dongfeng, which has joint-venture partnerships with Nissan and Honda, recently announced it is entering late-stage trials for a solid state-powered production car, scheduled for launch in 2027. Chery also announced in December 2025 that its Exeed ES8 shooting brake will launch as its first solid state battery model, and have a driving range of 1000km.

Large SUVs are the big, spacious heroes of suburbia, favoured by families with more than a couple of kids and picked for their adventurous and sporty looks when probably a people mover would do.Of course, there are the large SUVs that aren’t just tough looking but incredibly capable off-road, too. Then there are those which are fully electric, and bring supercar acceleration to something that feels like the size of a small house.As part of our ongoing 2026 CarsGuide Car of the Year awards, here are our top 10 large SUV model ranges from the sub-$100K category in alphabetical order and why they made the cut. Our top three, including the category winner, will be announced February 6.Chinese carmaker Chery brought its flagship Tiggo 9 seven-seater SUV to Australia in late 2025 and in one grade only - the Ultimate.CarsGuide reviewers found the Tiggo 9 to be outstanding value for money, but also standing out is its ‘Super Hybrid’ system which offers a large battery, fast charging and a long combined range with excellent fuel efficiency.Add to this a superbly comfortable ride and you can see why the Tiggo 9 has made our shortlist.  Hyundai’s Santa Fe quickly became an Aussie family favourite after it was launched here 25 years ago. Loved for being spacious and affordable, this large SUV became safer, better to drive and more refined over the years until we come to today’s fifth-generation model, which is the best yet.The Santa Fe is a three-row large SUV available in both petrol and petrol-hybrid powertrains. It has some fierce rivals in this large and affordable SUV segment, but CarsGuide reviewers loved the way it combines practicality and value for money with style and refinement that can withstand all the spills and rough treatment delivered by families.  So much kudos needs to go to Kia for launching its largest SUV ever - the EV9 - as an all-electric model only. A brave move that even made the EV9 unique in its segment as the first fully electric, seven-seat, upper-large SUV on the market.CarsGuide reviewers found the EV9 to be practical, superb to drive with outstanding levels of comfort and performance, and while it can be pricey there’s large fast charging batteries, with long ranges and vehicle-to-load power capability.Add to all this the futuristic chiselled looks and you have an SUV that’s bravely different, and beautifully fit for purpose.The Land Rover Defender is iconic. Famous for being the choice of transport for decades of hardcore adventurers to royalty and everyone in between, not many SUVs can combine prestige and off-road prowess like the Defender. The new Defender is a far more luxurious affair than the early Land Rover Series 1 from the 1940s that started the whole off-road SUV thing, but the blocky looks are still reminiscent of its agricultural ancestor.CarsGuide reviewers found the Defender to be comfortable and great to drive, with excellent practicality but fuel consumption can be high and towing capacity less than rivals.Available in a short- and long-wheelbase, with a choice of powerplants from supercharged V8s to hybrids the Defender is an exceptional go-anywhere luxury SUV.The Polestar 4 is a prestige electric coupe-style SUV that arrived in Australia in 2024, causing chins to wag due to its complete lack of rear window, and a digital review mirror.The rear window controversy was good publicity for the brand which arrived in Australia in 2022 with its Polestar 2 sedan but had seemingly gone off the boil with the arrival of a multitude of new Chinese electric SUVs.At 4.84m end to end, the Polestar 4 is about a finger’s length longer than the Tesla Model Y, but more expensive and would see its rivals as Audi’s Q6 e-tron Sportback and BMW iX3.  CarsGuide reviewers found the Polestar 4 to have an impressive driving range, excellent performance, great styling… but that lack of back window and the digital rear view mirror, not so great. The new-generation Skoda Kodiaq arrived in 2025, bigger and more refined than the previous version, even if the styling appeared to have barely changed. CarsGuide reviewers found this seven-seater to be practical with excellent cabin storage and packed with loads of standard features, making the Kodiaq excellent value.Superb to drive with great handling and a comfortable ride, the Kodiaq is the alternative to more mainstream rivals such as the Mitsubishi Outlander or Toyota Kluger.  Toyota’s seven-seat large SUV has also been on the shopping list of Aussie families since 2003 and while there’s more rivals to pick from than 20 years ago, the Kluger remains popular.CarsGuide reviewers found the Kluger to be spacious, practical, effortless to drive and with a fuel efficient hybrid powertrain, it is also outstanding value for money and comes with low servicing costs and Toyota’s reputation of reliability.Aussie Klugers are made in right-hand drive at Toyota’s Indiana plant in the United States.  Toyota’s LandCruiser 300 Series is a legend in its own time, acclaimed worldwide as one of the most capable large off-roaders, that’s comfortable, and with an exceptional reputation for reliability.With rivals such as the Nissan Patrol and Land Rover Defender, CarsGuide reviewers found the LandCruiser 300 Series to not only be great off-road, but also have good on-road manners, too. Reviewers noted, however, the high price tag and the need for better off-road tyres.The new-gen Toyota LandCruiser Prado arrived in late 2024 amid high expectations given the popularity of the previous modelsThe new Prado had a completely new retro cool look, but also a higher price tag. Still CarsGuide reviewers found the Prado very effective off-road and a big improvement over the previous gen with an increased towing capacity of 3500kg. But CarsGuide reviewers also found the Prado to be underpowered and not as good value for money as a Ford Everest or Isuzu MU-X.   Volkswagen's Touareg is a large, luxurious SUV that’s closely related to Audi’s Q7 but without the higher price.While all Touareg’s are five-seaters only, CarsGuide reviewers found it to be practical, full of sophisticated tech and refined in design and quality.A plug-in hybrid in the sporty R grade is available but CarsGuide reviewers found energy consumption to be high and EV driving range to be low.

Sales of new Chinese-made cars in Australia have been on the rise for a number of years now, but 2025 saw it reach new heights.According to VFACTS sales data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, a total of 221,699 new vehicles imported from China were sold in Australia, which is up 25.9 per cent year-on-year.It’s worth noting that this figure doesn’t include Tesla and Polestar sales. Every Polestar and almost every Tesla (excluding the updated Model Y Performance) sold in Australia are made in China.Combining this Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) sales data, it’s understood more than 252,000 Chinese-made cars were sold in Australia during 2025. An exact figure can’t be determined as Tesla doesn’t provide any data indicating how many of its Australian-delivered cars were made in China and Germany.Even despite this, China has now overtaken Thailand as the second largest new vehicle import market in Australia. A total of 249,958 Thai-made new vehicles were sold in Australia during 2025, which is down 8.2 per cent year-on-year.It’s worth noting that this is still behind Japan, which has been the largest new vehicle import market in Australia for decades now. A total of 358,981 Japanese-made new vehicles were sold in Australia last year, which is down 5.3 per cent year-on-year.The large jump in Chinese-made new vehicles in Australia is likely attributable to the wealth of new Chinese brands that launched last year. Examples include Deepal, Geely, JAC, Jaecoo, Leapmotor, Omoda, XPeng and Zeekr.These brands are able to scale quickly in Australia as they view it as a test market for further expansion. Plus, there are no import tariffs to hinder potential sales.There was also astronomical growth in a number of existing Chinese brands in Australia. Sales of Chery vehicles were up 176.8 per cent year-on-year and BYD vehicles were up 156.2 per cent year-on-year.Chinese brands GWM, BYD and MG have all cemented their place in the top 10 best sellers and continue to grow.Although Chinese-made car sales rose a considerable amount last year, the top 10 best-selling models were largely imported from Japan or Thailand. The best-selling Chinese-made car last year was the 10th placed Tesla Model Y with a total of 22,239 examples sold.A number of non-Chinese carmakers have been taking note of how Chinese-made cars have been performing in Australia and are quickly pivoting to producing models in that country.As examples, the Cupra Tavascan, Kia EV5, Lotus Eletre and Emeya, as well as the forthcoming Hyundai Elexio, Mazda 6e and Mazda CX-6e are all made in China.For now we'll have to wait and see, but China could soon topple Japan and become the biggest new vehicle import market in Australia if it continues its trajectory.

The European Union is proposing an alternative to its tariffs targeting Chinese-made electric-powered vehicles, in the form of a minimum price model, according to Bloomberg.Under the model, Chinese exporters can submit price offers, which must be “adequate to eliminate the injurious effects of the subsidies and provide equivalent effect to duties”.Details such as the minimum import price, sales channels, cross compensation and future investments in the EU must be included.Alternatively, brands who do not use this new model will continue to be subject to the tariffs.A 2024 investigation found China’s car exporters gained unfair advantage from Chinese government subsidies, which found they were able to sell cars significantly under the price of Europe-built alternatives.To combat this, Chinese brands were hit with tariffs of up to 35 per cent on imports in addition to a 10 per cent foreign cars tariff.These tariffs are designed to counteract the impact of these subsidies to protect jobs and entice buyers toward European cars.They also are intended to encourage Chinese brands to build cars in Europe.Chinese auto makers have already begun building cars in Europe.For example, Xpeng is using local assembly in Austria, while Leapmotor manufactures cars in Poland.This latest change demonstrates a cooperative approach between the EU and Chinese car makers, described as a “soft landing” in China.Despite tough economic conditions for Chinese car makers in Europe, brands are gaining an increasingly strong hold.Chinese car brands outsold Renault and Audi in Europe during August in 2025. The following month they sold more vehicles than South Korean brands in Western Europe for the first time ever.These defiant sales figures are largely due to Chinese brands shifting focus from EVs to the import of hybrid and internal combustion vehicles.The news comes after reports that the EU is planning to remove its total ban on petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035.