Chery is weighing a homecoming for Omoda and Jaecoo, two brands it has so far reserved mostly for customers abroad. Citing several independent sources, Chinese media outlet Leiphone reported that the automaker has begun putting together marketing teams for the pair, which would be positioned in the premium segment if the plan goes ahead. Hiring outreach has reportedly reached people who previously worked at BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi, though timing, product plans and distribution remain undecided.
The deliberation reflects a stark split in Chery's business: booming shipments abroad against shrinking volumes at home. Through August the group sold 1.91 million vehicles, up 10.84 percent year on year, but that growth came almost entirely from exports, which surged 68.16 percent to roughly 1.34 million units. Domestic deliveries fell 38.48 percent to about 571,000. In August alone, exports made up just over 70 percent of the 280,128 vehicles the group sold.
Omoda, founded in 2021 to court younger buyers worldwide, and Jaecoo, added in 2022 with a premium tilt, are known jointly as "O&J" and had passed 1 million cumulative sales globally by April. Europe has powered much of that run: Chery says it sold more than 208,000 vehicles across 24 European countries from January to July, more than tripling year on year, while the Jaecoo 7, Jaecoo 5 and Omoda 5 have all ranked among the UK's ten best-selling models this year.
Back home, Chery's existing lineup is under strain — Jetour and Exeed deliveries dropped 10.64 percent and 37.79 percent respectively in the first eight months, and Exeed has recently been folded into the company's international arm under executive Zhang Guibing. A domestic rollout of Omoda and Jaecoo would represent another push into China's premium tier, but how the two would be differentiated from current brands, how their product lines would be divided and how they would be sold all remain open questions.