Chinese car-maker Chery has unveiled an electric version of its first new model for Australia after an eight-year absence from the local market. Pending any unforeseen delays it is due here next year.
The electric version of the 2024 Chery Omoda 5 SUV from China has been revealed, ahead of the first Australian showroom arrivals due early next year.
The petrol Omoda 5 arrived in Australia in March 2023, as Chery’s first new model in its return to Australia after eight years away from local showrooms.
But details of the electric model, due here in the first half of next year, only surfaced at the Shanghai motor show last week (photos in this story credited to Malaysia’s Paul Tan) – where it was quietly unveiled under the radar of most English-speaking media.
Specifications published by Chery (via Paul Tan) show it will be powered by a 165kW electric motor driving the front wheels, and a 61kWh battery pack, good for 450 kilometres of claimed driving range in lab testing.
MORE: 2023 Chery Omoda 5 price and specs (petrol)
It is not clear what testing standard the driving range claim is measured against; Chinese car makers typically favour more lenient local standards, but previous reports on the Omoda 5 EV have referenced Europe’s more realistic (but still laboratory-tested) WLTP protocols.
Chery claims it is targeting energy efficiency of 15kWh per 100km or less, a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 7.8 seconds or less, and a zero to 80 per cent fast charge in 35 minutes or less.
These specifications are similar to key small electric SUV rivals, including the MG ZS EV and BYD Atto 3 from China, and Hyundai Kona Electric and Kia Niro EV from South Korea.
Chery executives have previously said the outgoing Kona Electric – not the new model due in showrooms later this year – was selected as a benchmark for the Omoda 5 EV.
“We already have [conducted] a lot of studies [into the electric car market], and compared and modified our EV to [compete with] the Hyundai Kona [Electric],” Charlie Zhang, executive vice president of Chery’s export division, told Australian media last year.
“The Omoda 5 EV is much better than the MG ZS EV. We have the new generation of electric and electronic architectures, and the design, technology, and features [are] very much different,” the executive declared.
The specifications shown by Chery in Shanghai list a targeted braking distance of 36 metres or less – but a speed from which this will be measured is not disclosed.
Styling changes for the electric Chery Omoda 5 are concentrated at the front, where it swaps the petrol version’s large grille for a closed-off, body-coloured panel, and a restyled lower bumper.
There is ‘OMODA’ branding on a chrome panel stretching between the headlights, but overseas reports suggest this may not be offered in every market where the car is sold.
Other changes include new alloy wheels, and a tweaked rear bumper. The car on display in Shanghai is pictured wearing Kumho tyres, rather than the Giti tyres fitted to petrol-powered examples in Australia.
The interior appears to be unchanged, bar a unique colour scheme mixing blue, ivory and a copper-like colour.
The 2024 Chery Omoda 5 EV battery-powered SUV is due in Australia in the first half of next year, pending any delays. Pricing will be confirmed closer to launch.
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