Chery’s Jaecoo comes to Australia with rival Toyota RAV4

Chery only just relaunched in Australia in 2023 and now it will be followed by the company’s fledgling Jaecoo brand.

Mid-sized car, 5 seats Jaecoo J7 SUV will come in second half of 2024offers a choice of front- or all-wheel drive.

The company says pricing and specifications will be announced closer to launch, although it has confirmed the J7 will offer a 14.8-inch portrait-oriented touchscreen.

It will also offer an available All Road Drive Intelligent System – or ARDIS for short, not to be confused with the blue phone box.

In other markets, the J7 is equipped with a turbocharged 1.6-liter 4-cylinder gasoline engine, producing 145 horsepower and 290Nm of torque, combined with a clutch automatic transmission. seven-level dual.

The 1.5-liter four-cylinder plug-in hybrid powertrain has also been detailed for overseas markets.

It has a ground clearance of 200mm, which is only about 20mm. Subaru Foresterand measures 4500mm long, 1865mm wide and 1680mm tall on a 2672mm wheelbase.

That makes it about 100mm shorter but 10mm wider in comparison Toyota RAV4.

In China, standard equipment includes a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a power driver’s seat, while some models also feature heated and ventilated front seats and 64-color ambient lighting. and head-up display.

Available safety equipment includes adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist, rear cross-traffic assist, traffic sign recognition, and rear cross-traffic assist. traffic jam assistance.

Established in 2023, Jaecoo is the name used to export Chery’s Tansuo 06 (also known as Explore 06) and Tiggo 9.

These models were renamed the J7 and J9, and it is the former that will launch the brand in Australia.

The name is a portmanteau of the German word ‘jäger’ (or hunter) and the English word ‘cool’

Chery has countless brands, following the classic style of the Chinese car company.

In addition to the Karry commercial vehicle division in the Chinese market, the company also established the premium Jetour brand in 2017, followed by the Exeed SUV brand in 2018. Both brands are offered in the markets. exported as South America and Middle East.

Last year, it also established electric vehicle (EV) brands iCar and Luxeed.

In Europe, Chery plans to sell cars under the Omoda, Jaecoo and Exlantix brands.

What’s even more confusing is that Chery cars are sold as Chireys in Mexico.

The name Jaecoo was first registered with IP Australia in 2022, Jetour was trademarked the same year and Exlantix in 2023.

Curiously, Chery has also trademarked the names Coogaar, Couggo, Lepus and Lepas, as well as Fownix, which are used on Chery products sold in Iran.

Although it will carry a different badge, the Jaecoo J7 will be the third mid-size SUV offered by Chery in Australia.

The Tiggo 7 Pro went on sale late last year, while the larger version Tiggo 8 Pro expected in April.

Both offer a choice of front- or all-wheel drive, with the Tiggo 7 Pro sitting on the smaller end of the class with similar dimensions to Mazda CX-5 while the Tiggo 8 Pro is closer Mitsubishi Outlander in size and offers three rows of seats.