In Malaysia this week the regulator stopped new Omoda 5 registrations over a rear-axle failure, while the rest of the Chinese-brand news was about price: rebates ahead of the Auto Car Expo, a locally assembled iCaur at an unchanged price, and a hybrid crossover taking bookings.
Safety: type approval suspended on the Omoda 5
JPJ, the road transport department, temporarily suspended vehicle type approval for the Chery Omoda 5 and told Chery Malaysia to identify potentially affected cars. The trigger was an incident in Johor Bahru on October 6 when the rear suspension assembly separated from a car, leaving it stranded; no injuries were reported. The cause is unknown. The same report recalls a 2024 inspection campaign covering 600 vehicles, but Chery has not said whether the cases are connected. Other outlets covered the same incident and noted that Chery has not explained it.
Sales and local assembly
Malaysia recorded 74,259 registrations in September, 18.6% more than a year earlier, with the first nine months at a record 640,875. Jetour was among the month's gainers, taking fifth place among makes with 1,830 registrations.
On local assembly, iCaur's V23 is now assembled in Malaysia and keeps its tax-free price of RM132,780 with the same specification as the imported version. Separately, Geely EX2-badged cars were photographed leaving Proton's Tanjong Malim plant; the report does not confirm their destination or whether regular exports have begun.
Show-season pricing ahead of ACE 2026
Several brands announced offers for the Auto Car Expo at Setia City Convention Centre on October 31 to November 1:
- Chery: RM18,000 off the Tiggo 9, taking it to RM179,800.
- Jaecoo: a RM9,000 rebate on the J5, priced at RM108,000.
- Dongfeng: RM8,888 off the 007, with the Premium RWD at RM161,000, and a free wallbox.
- Zeekr: the 7X from RM193,800 with a free wallbox and two years of service.
- Jetour: the T2 i-DM from RM162,000 with early-bird packages for the first 2,000 registrations.
Outside the expo, Chery's Tiggo Cross Sport Edition launched at an advertised RM83,800 under a promotion, and GWM opened bookings for the Ora 5 HEV, estimated at RM115,000 for a November launch.
What it means
- The Omoda 5 stop is the week's largest event for a single brand. How long it lasts and what the inspection finds are not yet known.
- The pricing pattern is discounting around the expo rather than new entrants, apart from one possible one: Li Auto is recruiting a Malaysian general manager, which the report says does not confirm a launch.