Market Insight: Chery rockets up sales charts

CHERY has been rocketing up the Australian sales charts since its return to the market in early 2023.

Following its short-lived entrance to the market a decade ago, the Chinese importer has worked steadily on improving its offerings to better suit the demands of international markets, reinventing itself as a global player with a particular focus on new energy vehicles.

And it appears those efforts have not gone unnoticed by discerning Australian buyers… The brand’s sales trajectory is climbing sharply, going from just 5890 units at the end of 2023 to 12,603 units in December 2024.

The importer has shifted more than that number in the first six months of 2025 – with a total of 14,123 units sold.

Speaking with GoAuto at the launch of the Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8 CSH in the Hunter Valley this week, Chery Australia chief operating officer Lucas Harris said new arrivals to the brand’s portfolio will continue to grow its presence locally, particularly considering it now has entrants across Small, Medium, and Large SUV categories.

“The inquiry volume has been very pleasing straight out of the gate … and the early feedback from our dealers has been very positive,” he said.

When asked if the attractive pricing of Chery’s latest range would creep up over time, as has been the case elsewhere, Mr Harris said the brand was working very hard to ensure the value proposition of its models remained – giving it an edge over those importers who have increased their prices with each passing year.

“We consider the price position very carefully … it’s not just about considering whether it’s sustainable for us, but also if it’s sustainable for our dealer partners – that is critically important,” he explained.

“We don’t make decisions lightly about our pricing, and I like to think we are relatively humble in our view of where we sit in the market. We still have a lot of work to do with customers, earning their confidence and earning their trust, and that is what we will continue to do.

“But I am very comfortable with where we have positioned the cars. I think we have been very sharp with the pricing and that really does help us in continuing to grow our presence.”

Adding to his colleague’s remarks, Chery Automobile head of product development and director of pre-research and vehicle architecture Dr Xianqiang (David) Lu told GoAuto the company’s Australian sales trajectory was mirrored in other markets.

The former Ford Motor Company engineer explained that Chery ended the 2024 calendar year with a record of 2,603,916 new vehicle sales globally – a 38.4 per cent increase year-on-year – exceeding its own expectations and surpassing the industry’s growth rate by 10-20 percentage points.

He said it is that resilience that demonstrates the brand’s strength in a challenging market, noting total export sales across 2024 of 1,144,588 units – or an increase of 21.4 per cent on the year prior.

Of those sales, 583,569 units were classified as new energy vehicles (NEV), showing the fastest NEV growth among all major manufacturers.

Locally, Chery’s year-to-date sales fall firmly in favour of the Small SUV segment Tiggo 4 with 7996 registrations to 30 June. It is followed by the C5 (including the all-electric E5 and previously badged Omoda 5) with 2691 unit sales, the Tiggo 7 with 2025 unit sales, and the Tiggo 8 with 1386 unit sales.

The importer has also enjoyed early success with its premium Jaecoo marque, the Jaecoo 7 and Jaecoo 8 achieving sales of 627 units and 63 units respectively in their first few months on sales.

Chery model sales YTD as of 30 June 2025*:

*All sales data supplied courtesy of VFACTS.