Chery brands launch in UK

China’s Chery will launch its Omoda and Jaecoo brands into the UK market after signing a financial services partnership with the UK personal finance arm of French bank BNP Paribas and its full-service leasing and mobility solutions specialist subsidiary Arval.

The deal, the result of a competitive tender process, will provide Omoda and Jaecoo dealers and customers with “a full range of flexible finance solutions”, the partners say. BNP Paribas will provide consumer finance, while Arval will offer fleet and contract management services.

Initially, Omoda will launch two models, the B-segment ICE SUV Omoda 5 and its BEV equivalent E5, which will become available this month at 62 retailers across the UK. Jaecoo will release its first model later this year.

"We have big ambitions for Europe and have worked hard to try to bring the best products,” says Victor Zhang, executive vice-president at Omoda & Jaecoo UK. “However, we know that, in the oldest automotive market in the world, we need to have the best partners to offer our customers the best experience throughout their journey with us.

“This is an exciting partnership with a very experienced company and experts in their field. Together we can develop what we feel will be not only a very competitive offering but something special for a newcomer to this competitive market."

Neither Omoda nor Jaecoo will be familiar names to buyers in the UK, or in other parts of Europe where Chery has expansion ambitions, denying Chery the advantage that rivals such as Geely, which controls the legacy European Volvo and Louts marques, and Saic, owner of MG, have in attracting the continent’s car buyers.

But they were identified by a panel at last month’s Move event in London as potentially able to succeed in Europe as a result of their parent’s existing scale in both ICE and BEV, alongside other rivals currently less familiar on the continent such as Changan, Dongfeng and GAC. Indeed, Chery International boasts of being the largest automotive exporter in China.

The new partners are certainly hopeful of UK progress. “With this expansion of our motor finance solutions into the new car sales segment, this partnership with a fast-growing OEM is the first of its kind for the UK and forms part of BNP Paribas Personal Finance’s wider ambitions to further establish itself as a leading provider of finance solutions in the automotive market in the UK and across all major European markets,” says Stephen Hunt, CEO of BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK.

Arval leases more than 1.7mn vehicles globally, as at the end of December 2023. Within the UK, it leases more than 194,000 vehicles, of which almost 48,000 are electric.

“We are delighted to have been chosen as the partner for Omoda and Jaecoo UK, to provide contract hire for their customers and support their dealer network. These are two exciting new brands, and we look forward to assisting their growth in the UK,” says Lakshmi Moorthy, managing director of Arval UK.