Chinese brand Omoda has begun sales of the Omoda 9 midsize plug-in hybrid SUV in its core European markets as its parent Chery tries to pivots away from gasoline cars.
The Omoda 9 sits above the Omoda 5 compact SUV and comes with a large 34-kilowatt hour battery to give an electric-only range of 145 km (93 miles)
It is 4770-mm long and will compete against plug-in hybrid versions of the Skoda Kodiaq, Toyota RAV4, BYD Seal U and Mazda CX-60 in Omoda’s European markets of Spain, the U.K., Poland and Italy.
Chery was the fastest growing Chinese automaker in Europe in the first two months with sales of 8,000, up 4,271 percent on the year before, according to figures from market researcher Dataforce.
Chery’s growth has mainly come from gasoline models, which accounted for 78 percent of the company’s sales.
Chery sells gasoline versions of the Omoda 5 and Jaecoo 7 compact SUV. Jaecoo also offers a plug-in hybrid version of the Jaecoo 7, using an 18 kilowatt-hour battery. The Omoda 5 also available as an all-electric model.
Omoda 9 gets lots of standard equipment
Chery will offer one version of the Omoda 9 plug-in-hybrid with a long list of standard equipment, including technology usually restricted to higher-grade models such as a head-up display, a 1.3-meter-long sunroof, heated and ventilated seats front and rear, and a 14-speaker Sony stereo system.
Chery Omoda 9’s dashboard.
The dashboard is dominated by a large curved 24.6-inch information panel that incorporates a touchscreen.
The so-called Super Hybrid System (SHS) packages a 143 hp, 1.5-liter gasoline engine and three electric motors to give a claimed combined power output of 443 hp. Omoda says the car will accelerate from 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) in 4.9 seconds.
One of the three motors is mounted on the rear axle to give the car all-wheel-drive capability. Different driving modes including Eco, Normal, Sport, Mud, Snow and Off-Road change the way the power is delivered.
The car is priced at 44,990 pounds ($58,220) in the U.K., Chery’s second largest market in Europe after Spain. The price is pitched above the entry Skoda Kodiaq iV plug-in hybrid at 41,935 pounds (€54,000), with the Omoda aiming to tempt customers with more power and equipment.
The Omoda 9 will be followed by the Omoda 7 SUV that slots below but above the 5, Chery U.K. head Victor Zhang told Automotive News Europe last year, without giving timings. A small SUV badged 3 will follow after the 7, Zhang said.
Omoda and Jaecoo are Chery’s export brands. The company has recently said it would offer its Tiggo brand in select eastern European markets, starting with the midsize Tiggo 8 plug-in hybrid . Models in the Tiggo range are also sold under the Italian DR brand as well as Ebro in Spain.
Chery aims to become a plug-in hybrid leader in Europe, the company has said. Plug-in hybrids are not subject to the same tariff increases recently applied to Chinese built-EVs by the European Union and are increasingly being offered by Chinese brands as a way to lower their average CO2 as EV sales are constrained by the tariffs.
Sales of Chinese-built plug-in hybrid electric vehicles rose 321 percent in February to 4,744, led by the BYD Seal U SUV, MG HS and the Jaecoo 7.
