Omoda’s parent company, Chery, has big plans for their new brand. Positioned as a Chinese brand with global aspirations, it has already managed to expand its global presence to 12 markets thus far with a further 11, including the Philippines, to be added before the end of 2023.
Its name is supposed to indicate surprise, positivity, and energy. It’s also derived from two words, “O” from “Oxygen,” a necessary element of life, and “Moda” from the word, “Modern.”
More interesting than its name, however, is its history.
What started as a single new product within the Chery brand was later developed into its own separate brand in June 2022 with an aim to tap youthful and trendy car buyers. Chery credits the birth of Omoda to the growing movement of “Omoders”—a demographic of car buyers it seeks to tap who are unique and individualistic. Most important, they are willing to try new things and are unbounded by the status quo.
At that point, Omoda’s Global Research and Development team conducted over a thousand focused group studies in 20 countries, including the Philippines, with the intention to create vehicles that meet the expectations from the usual car buyer—and more. The result? Their product philosophy of “Cross F Future” which could both mean, “Crossing From the Future” denoting its products’ futuristic design and “Crossing For the Future” referring to its high specification for its price range.
In April 2023, Omoda, together with its sister brand, Jaecoo (collectively known as O&J) made its global debut as a separate company known as Anhui Omoda Jaecoo Automobile Co., Ltd. starting with its first product: the Omoda 5.
Positioned between the mainstream Chery brand and the luxury Exceed brand, Omoda is occupying what Chery calls the “middle-high segment”—the same one where traditional Japanese and Korean makes are present in. Given the importance of branding customer experience in this segment, Chery will operate O&J (and potentially Exceed) as a subsidiary in any market with a volume close to 500,000 annual sales. Even in smaller markets, where Chery has a distributor presence, it will be operated separately and independently.
With just a single product, the Omoda 5, the fledging car brand managed to hit month after month of record sales. For the first half of 2023, it has already managed to breach the 70,000-unit sales milestone. Some notable achievements were all achieved in markets with a strong Japanese brand presence: over a thousand units sold in Australia in less than six months (it recently garnered a 5-star ANCAP safety rating there); over three thousand reservations booked in just 10 days in Malaysia; and more than 13,000 units sold in Indonesia in just three months.
By the end of 2024, O&J plans to be present in 50 markets, including Europe (it also managed a 5-star Euro NCAP rating) with potential plans to even penetrate the illusive North American market in two to three years’ time. This means a quick, successive roll out of products from both Omoda and Jeacoo. The Omoda 5 and Omoda 5 EV will be joined by the Omoda 7 and Omoda 7 PHEV as well as the S5 and S5 GT. Over to the Jaecoo side, the Jaecoo 7 and Jaecoo 7 PHEV, will be joined by the Jaecoo 5 and Jaecoo 5 EV as well as the Jaecoo 8 and Jaecoo 8 PHEV.
In the Philippines, O&J is currently in talks to launch with 15 dealerships. They have also confirmed that all the vehicles they will sell in the vehicles will have one of the longest coverages at seven years and 200,000 kilometers. Furthermore, internal combustion engine models will have a 10-year or 1-million-kilometer engine warranty, while their EVs will have an 8-year or 200,000-kilometer battery warranty.
Besides expanding its line-up to cater to a wider audience and providing robust aftersales service, Omoda is envisioning itself as being more than just an automaker; it wants to create a movement for owners and fans. The brand’s holistic approach includes “O-Club,” an exclusive fan community for Omoda drivers will offer perks such as fuel rebates and invitations to exclusive events.
With Omoda and Jaecoo, Chery is finding a new kind of customer; the kind of customer who probably found their Chery line of vehicles a bit too traditional for their tastes. By reaching this new kind of customer, Chery is at the dawn of a new era.
Omoda is being groomed to be Chery's answer to MG of SAIC which is good.
ReplyDeleteOmoda Philippines should bring in too the Omoda 3 and Omoda S5 Sedan which is based on Arrizo 5 Plus..Omoda S5 would be a great alternative to the MG GT Sedan and GAC Empow which are selling well in the local market.
Go go go omoda...Di naman bawal mangarapš¤š¤š¤
ReplyDeleteHow cute. š¤£š¤£š¤£
ReplyDeleteQuestion re another brand: Why is no one reporting about the VW Tharu, the new crossover from VW Ph? Saw itnin their FB site..
ReplyDeleteSimple. They decided to launch it on their Facebook page but they haven't provided any official info on it yet.
DeleteAnother day another Omoda & Jaecoo marketing mind conditioning. Chery, Jetour, Exeed, Omoda & Jaecoo will certainly dilute their market share & brand perception.
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong heavily marketing these vehicles as Chery is highly committed and serious about manufacturing and selling these vehicles worldwide
DeleteTheir multi brand strategy worked well as buyers got more choices.
Exeed brand won't be available in the Philippine market as Jaecoo is on the same level.
Bawasan ang sobrang pagiging reklamador!
May isang balimbing dito...
DeleteThey all have global ambition..Until they become market bottom dwellers due to their own ignorance of what buyers really need
ReplyDeleteChery positioned the Omoda brand as a rival of MG in European and Asian markets.
ReplyDelete