The latest Chinese brand to take on the UK market has announced aggressive pricing for its launch models.

Omoda,  a subsidiary of China’s largest vehicle exporter Chery International, staged a glittering launch event in London’s Docklands on 29th August. Guests and dealers from across the already 60-strong network of franchised retailer sites, which will also sell the more off-road focused sister brand Jaecoo, were able to view the brand’s debut model the Omoda 5 SUV, in both petrol (ICE) and battery-electric (EV) versions.

Officially unveiling the new models, Omoda & Jaecoo UK product manager Ollie Lowe announced that ICE versions of the crossover SUV would be priced from £25,235 and the Omoda E5 EV from £33,055.

Adding that at 4.4 metres long and 1.83 metres wide the coupe-styled Omoda 5 sits directly between the small and compact SUV segments, Lowe said; “No petrol car in either segment offers as much power for as low a price, while our EV price is very much in the small SUV area – no compact SUV offers the blend of range and low price that Omoda can.”

Speaking exclusively to Business Motoring before the launch ceremony, Lowe added that the fleet market forms a major part of Omoda’s UK growth plans. “Given our volume aspirations we have to be serious about fleet, it’s such a significant part of the UK market and it’s significant for BEV vehicles as well, so we are very serious about fleet,” he said.

According to Lowe the first step in achieving such fleet penetration is to reassure potential customers that they are buying in to a serious brand; “We do that with our warranty, our dealer network, our centralised parts distribution – we’re coming about this in a very traditional, OEM fashion which not many people are doing right now.”

This approach has been evident in Omoda’s establishment of a dealer network – already at 60 outlets, it is planned to increase to 100 outlets by the end of 2024 and 130 in 2025, the showroom design a prominent presence in ‘motor alley’ complexes.

Once potential buyers are reassured, the product has to in Lowe’s words, astound them; “Our ICE version of the car, with 186hp and a seven-speed DCT transmission for £25K, is really good value for money, even before the significant specification inside the car.

“I spoke to a sales exec in Bristol on Friday – he’s done four test drives and sold four cars. If you get people into the car they really get on very well with it – they recognise not only the value for money which others offer but also the build quality which some others don’t offer.”

Omoda is just one of several Chinese manufacturers currently setting up on the UK market and arrives just as some fleet voices have been issuing warnings to tread carefully with the new brands, following the recent high-profile bankruptcy of HiPhi, which was due to launch in Europe in 2025. But Rowe is unfazed about such warnings.

“We (Chery) have been the largest exporter of passenger cars from China for the last 21 years in a row. It’s a significant business and when you look at the record around the world, introducing Omoda and Jaecoo in many, many countries, there’s been no withdrawals but lots of success – in Spain they are selling 1000 Omoda 5s a month.

“My experience with Chery so far is the company doesn’t do things by half measures. The fleet team we’ve put in place are all recognised names for UK fleet buyers – Peter Renton, Tim Whitworth and Chris Clayton are all well known and well respected within the fleet industry.”

Lowe added that a similar approach is being adopted across all departments; “We’ve partnered with Thatcham – we are doing detailed engineering work with them in China for our future models, making sure we can optimise our Thatcham ratings which is a big challenge for new entrants.

“Everyone within the team is experienced – we have a former head of marketing for Honda, and for Nissan Europe in the brand team, I myself have been at a lot of different manufacturers, and learned from all of them.

“The UK team is really strong and enthusiastic and a team to push the established methods of doing things. That’s been a frustration with some other brands I’ve worked at, they just want to repeat the status quo. The Chery leadership is very much ‘if that’s the established way, why? Can we do it differently? What’s the impact of doing it differently?’ I really enjoy that mentality and I think you’ll see that trickle down into our fleet offering as well.”

The launch event coincided with the arrival into Southampton of the first shipment of UK-specification Omoda 5 and E5 models – the Cosco shipping vessel ‘Liao He Kou’, one of the world’s largest and greenest roll-on/roll-off ships, making its maiden voyage to Europe.

Speaking at the launch event Chen Chun Qing, the executive vice president of Chery International, described the week as a landmark for Omoda, marking the official start of the brand’s journey in a key market.

“Omoda is at the forefront of a new era of intelligent and new energy technology products and is already making an impact across Europe, even outselling established brands in some markets – we are building a futuristic brand for customers, with highly specified, premium models available at a competitive price,” he said.

Victor Zhang, who is leading the UK presence of both Omoda and Jaecoo, added: “We have arrived in the UK fully prepared with a large network of experienced franchised retailers, backed by the most comprehensive aftermarket and customer support services, to deliver an exemplary ownership experience for our customers. The first Omoda vehicles have landed, and we look forward to seeing them on UK roads very soon.”