China’s Chery revs up for OMODA, JAECOO debut in UAE, Saudi

Chinese automotive giant, Chery Automobile, is gearing up to launch two new brands in the UAE and Saudi Arabian market in the third quarter of 2024.

Chery is China’s largest automaker by export volume, as the company sold more than half of its cars outside of China in 2023. 

The company has been ramping up its global operations with several new plants having been built in countries such as Brazil and Argentina, where over 100,000 cars are coming out of each of these factories on an annual basis. Chery is also mulling building a UK factory, according to a recent Financial Times report. 

While Russia and Latin American nations have been among the biggest global markets for Chery thus far, the company is now setting its sights on the Middle East, with a plan to launch its OMODA and JAECOO brands in Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the third quarter of 2024. 

“The plan by the end of 2024 is to have OMODA and JAECOO in more than 20 countries. So we’re now starting in the GCC with the UAE and KSA. We’re getting the showrooms ready in both countries and by Q3, we will be in the market in both countries,” Lucy Aziz, the new regional head of PR and communication for OMODA and JAECOO told Gulf Business. 

Chery first launched its OMODA C5 in Russia and Kazakhstan in October 2022. As of early 2024, both the OMODA and JAECOO brands are present in at least 10 countries including the likes of South Africa, New Zealand, Mexico, Chile, Spain and the UK.

What’s in a name?

In markets such as South Africa, OMODA has been selling its C5 crossover SUV. At the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show, the brand further unveiled their OMODA E5 electric vehicle model.

As far as the name of the OMODA brand goes, the ‘O’ stands for oxygen, representing life and vitality while ‘MODA’ symbolises modern and style-conscious aspirations.

Meanwhile, the name behind Chery’s JAECOO brand is inspired by a fusion of the German word “Jäger” and the English word “Cool. And JAECOO is primarily building out urban off-road SUVs, such as the JAECOO J7, which features 7 driving modes ranging from ‘off road’ to ‘sand’, ‘sport’, ‘mud’ and even ‘snow’.

Top hires

Amid OMODA and JAECOO’s bid to expand in the likes of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Chery is busy making some top hires, including Aziz, who has spent the previous four years as the head of PR and communications for smart device giant, OPPO where she received several awards over the years recognising her excellence in the industry.

“I would say the OPPO journey was an amazing experience for me. I managed more than 13 launch product launches there, received lots of awards and I garnered a lot of appreciation,” Aziz told Gulf Business.

And while Aziz will be embarking on a new journey with OMODA and JAECOO in what is more of new ‘startup-like’ venture, she says the 20 year strength of the Chery brand makes her new role a “beautiful opportunity”.

“I couldn’t say no to this opportunity. I felt that I’ve really connected with the brands,” Aziz said.