Chery needs to introduce sedans to Australia, at the same time as their recognition dwindles in an more and more SUV-hungry market.
Sedans, a minimum of these constructed by Japanese, Korean and European manufacturers, have been slowly disappearing from Australia as gross sales decline and clients shift to utes and SUVs – as evidenced by the latest axing of fashions just like the Mazda 6, Volkswagen Passat and Volvo S60, amongst others.
In distinction, the introduction of recent sedan fashions has primarily been led by Chinese language producers, with MG promoting the MG 5 and shortly introducing the MG 7 (technically a liftback), BYD promoting the Seal and contemplating one other sedan, and now Chery exhibiting curiosity.
“I ponder if a part of the rationale that section has been shrinking is as a result of the rivals are leaving,” Chery Australia chief working officer Lucas Harris advised CarExpert.
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ABOVE: BYD Seal and MG 7
“So if there’s not as many appropriate choices, is that naturally shrinking that section? There’s solely actually one principal competitor.”
This competitor is sort of actually the Toyota Camry, which stays Australia’s top-selling sedan, with 4259 models delivered to date in 2025. It’s trailed by the Tesla Mannequin 3 with 3715 and the BYD Seal with 1609, however naturally, the complete medium passenger automobile section pales compared to SUVs.
Even in case you lump mid-size vehicles with small and enormous vehicles, inclusive of sedans, hatches and wagons, that’s solely round 53,000 gross sales throughout the primary half of 2025. In distinction, mid-size SUVs alone have notched simply over 149,000 gross sales.
Chery Australia’s present lineup, together with the now-separate Omoda Jaecoo model, is comprised fully of SUVs.
ABOVE: Fulwin A9L
“I actually would advocate very strongly for us to have the ability to carry sedan choices. We’ve bought them globally, however left-hand drive, so I believe if we are able to do a very good job with what we’re [currently] given in right-hand drive, then possibly our associates in R&D may take into account giving us a sedan in right-hand drive,” Mr Harris added.
Globally and throughout all its manufacturers, Chery provides a minimum of six sedans, albeit in left-hand drive. SUVs nonetheless dominate its lineups, however there are sedan fashions that would conceivably be engineered on the market in right-hand drive markets.
There are additionally a number of totally different powertrains accessible, together with petrol (Chery Arrizo 5 and Arrizo 8), plug-in hybrid (Chery Fulwin A8 and Fulwin A9L) and battery-electric (Exeed Sterra ES).
Chery chief engineer David Xianqiang Lu advised CarExpert that whereas there would nonetheless be a give attention to SUVs, the model is open to introducing international sedan fashions to Australia.
ABOVE: 2025 Exeed Sterra ES
“All of us see the pattern in sedans dropping and SUVs rising, so it’s apparent that each firm is focusing extra on the SUV,” he mentioned.
“However globally, we are able to see we’re making increasingly more sedans for international markets. I might say we’re positively within the analysis section, learning the potential, doing the enterprise evaluation to see if it’s worthy to do this [in Australia].
“Chery is simply stepping into the right-hand aspect of enterprise, we additionally see that total the right-hand drive aspect of the enterprise group is rising. If there may be a sexy enterprise case, we are able to put it in in a short time.”
Chery is at present engaged on increasing into different segments too, with work at present underway to carry ute fashions to Australia. The primary of those fashions is predicted to reach within the second half of 2026.
MORE: All the pieces Chery
