Chery’s iCaur brand plans to enter Australia in early 2027 with the V25 mid-size SUV, pitching personalisation, familiar SUV styling and electrified powertrains to buyers. International CEO Ronna Luo said the brand aims to attract urban drivers who want a vehicle for everyday use as well as occasional adventurous trips. Chery executives describe the target customer as “young at heart”, meaning curious and open to new products rather than necessarily young in age.
The V25 has upright bodywork, round headlights and a tailgate-mounted spare wheel, but uses unibody construction rather than a body-on-frame platform. Depending on the market, it will be offered as either a battery-electric vehicle or an extended-range electric vehicle. Australian pricing and final specifications have not been announced. Chery says the model has more than 20 accessory interfaces, though iCaur has not confirmed which customisation options will be available locally; five exterior colours have been confirmed.
The brand is entering a substantial market: September’s Australian figures recorded 69,712 SUV deliveries, or 64.1 per cent of reported new-vehicle sales. Mid-size SUVs accounted for 34,545 deliveries, up 26.1 per cent year on year. The segment’s leading sellers included the Toyota RAV4, Tesla Model Y and BYD Sealion 7. Across the wider market, plug-in hybrid deliveries rose 122.7 per cent to 10,072, while battery-electric vehicles made up 24.2 per cent of sales.
Rivals include the upcoming hybrid and plug-in hybrid GWM Haval H7, Chery Group’s Jaecoo J7 and Jetour’s planned T1 and T2. The V25 sits between the smaller electric V23 and larger V27 EREV in iCaur’s overseas range, but neither sibling is confirmed for Australia. iCaur says it will pursue a premium position and build a separate local sales and service network from mainstream Chery.