Who is Omoda, what cars does it make and how much do they cost?

Omoda. The name is easy to pronounce in English, and like all new Chinese brands entering our car market, it is becoming increasingly familiar. Some of you may even have already seen the Omoda 5 live, which is being campaigned for launch in recent weeks.

What does Omoda stand for? The letter 'O' comes from the word 'Oxygen', while 'Moda' stands for 'fashion' and 'modern'. It is a very young brand, born just two years ago, thanks to the large Chinese group Chery, which first introduced it in Russia and Kazakhstan (it was October 2022) with the Omoda C5 (rebadged from the Chery Omoda 5 crossover of the same name). Chery's chairman Zhang Guibing said, in fact, that it is aimed at fashion-oriented, 'dynamic and avant-garde' customers.

In some markets Omoda - led by Steve Eum, vice-president and general manager of design for Chery in China - is positioned as a luxury brand compared to the more mainstream Chery, and in Europe it arrives together with Jaecoo, the other brand (positioned higher than Omoda) under which Chery sells its cars outside China.

• Omoda, company profile
• Omoda, technologies
• Omoda, cars
• Omoda, research and development

Omoda, company profile

Before talking about Omoda, it is necessary to recall who the Chery Group, China's largest exporter for 21 years, is.

It comprises 300 subsidiary or affiliate companies, with more than 80,000 employees in China and is based on a corporate structure spread over five continents. "In the past year, the company's turnover was about USD 42 billion," said Chery Auto Vice President Charlie Zhang, "creating more than 300,000 jobs.

Chery Auto already has more than 13 million customers worldwide, spread across more than 80 countries; it has six research and development centres, 17 assembly plants and works with more than 4,000 partners.

Omoda was established in June 2022 as an independent brand for the Russian market. Positioned above the Chery brand and below the Exeed brand, it was so well received that almost half of the Omoda C5s produced (45%) were sold in Russia.

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In April 2023, Omoda was unveiled as a global brand together with Jaecoo with the goal of achieving annual sales of 1,400,000 units worldwide by 2030 (excluding China). In the same month, Chery set up a separate company in China called Anhui Omoda Jaecoo Automobile Co. to sell the cars.

In the same month, Omoda was introduced in South Africa, as a luxury brand, and in May arrived in Mexico, distinguishing itself from Chery (Chirey in Mexico), resulting in the rebranding of the Chirey Omoda 5 as Omoda C5. The brand also announced the planned release of the Omoda O5 and Omoda C5 EV and the opening of 70 dealerships across the country, shared with the upcoming Jaecoo brand.

Omoda entered the European market this year, selling in Spain from March. In April 2024, Chery signed a joint venture agreement with Spanish company EV Motors to build Omoda vehicles in a former Nissan plant in Barcelona, Spain, and entered the UK the following month, selling the Omoda 5 and Omoda E5. After the summer, the Omoda 5 arrived in Italy.

Omoda, the technologies

Omoda leverages the experience and design strength of the Chery group to offer outside of China a growing range of petrol, electric and recently also plug-in hybrid compact SUVs. The Omoda 9 mid-size SUV is also sold in some countries.

There are three platforms for Omoda-branded cars, although the models currently sold in Europe only use one:

• The T1X modular platform is one of the best-known from the Chery group, with a wheelbase of between 2.56 and 2.80 metres that allows for 5- or 7-seat SUVs and crossovers, with ground clearance of 14.5 to 19 centimetres to ensure good off-road capabilities in light off-road conditions. The T1X is currently used on the Omoda 5 with a petrol-electric engine and on the Omoda 7 with a plug-in hybrid powertrain.
• Similar, but devoted to production economies as well as safety and ride comfort, is the M1X platform that Chery uses on other Omodas sold in certain countries. Here too, the architecture is the basis for five or seven-seat SUVs, with a wheelbase between 2.56 and 2.80 metres and a ground clearance of 12-13 cm. In Russia it forms the basis for the Omoda S5 and in Mexico for the Omoda O5.
• For the Omoda 9, on the other hand, the Chinese brand is using the M3X modular platform jointly developed by Chery and Benteler International of Austria for various models of the group with petrol and plug-in hybrid engines. The same M3X architecture will also be used by future 'combustion' models of Jaguar Land Rover.

In terms of engines, Omoda currently offers two 1.5-litre and 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol units with power outputs ranging from 147 to 197 PS and developed in-house by Chery's Acteco engine division.

The 1.5 is also offered as a plug-in hybrid, while the 2.0 TGDI turbo petrol with 261 PS, classically accompanied by a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, is also available in some markets.

For the electric Omoda E5, the motor is a 204 PS permanent magnet synchronous motor powered by a 61.06 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery supplied by CATL.

Omoda, the cars

The first car with which the brand debuted in Europe (and in the UK) is the Omoda 5, an SUV/crossover that costs £24,000 and takes models such as the Kia Sportage, Volkswagen Tiguan or Nissan Qashqai head-on. The Omoda 5 has an engine developed in-house by the Chery Group (a 1.6 cylinder turbo petrol four with direct injection), with the possibility of also being made in dual-fuel and hybrid variants.

Second to debut was the electric variant of the Omoda 5, the Omoda 5 EV (sister to the Jaecoo J7). Powered by an electric powertrain with a 62 kWh battery, it is expected in dealerships with prices yet to be confirmed.

Omoda 5 EV

The latest arrival is the flagship Omoda 7, which at 4.62 metres in length fits into the segment of mid-size SUVs like the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V and Ford Kuga, just to name a few examples. It is still too early to talk about prices, but it will arrive in Europe during 2025 and we already know that, unlike the Omoda 5, the Omoda 7 should not have a 100% electric variant.

Omoda 7

Omoda, research and development

The Chery group does not only produce cars and is active in no less than seven industrial areas including aviation, shipping and components. It has filed more than 14,000 patents and has five research and development centres (R&D): two in China (in Wuhu and Shanghai) and three in the rest of the world (in Latin America, North America and Europe). The Group has 10 production bases abroad (Russia, Brazil, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, etc.) and a commercial presence in over 80 countries and regions such as Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Italy, Tunisia, Ukraine and Saudi Arabia.

Among the various partnerships, it is worth mentioning that in 2012, with a joint investment together with Land Rover, the first Chery Jaguar Land Rover Motors was created, i.e. the first Chinese-British joint venture in the high-end automotive sector.

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