Brand overview: Jetour, a sub-branch of Chery focused on SUVs

Chinese car maker Chery recently returned to Australia after a nine-year absence.

While its first foray created a series of cheap and lousy products sold by an independent distributor in the market, its second foray was led by Modern Omoda 5 Small SUV powered by factory-supported operation.

While you might expect Chery to become a more well-known brand in Australia, the company also manufactures vehicles under other brand names.

This is normal in China. For example, GWM has the Haval, Ora, Tank and Wey brands, BYD has the Denza and Yangwang by-products, and SAIC Motor operates under the MG, LDV/Maxus and Roewe brands.

One reason Chery Holding’s Jetour Auto SUV brand is worth mentioning is that it produces cars that look great on the surface to the average Australian buyer.

While there is no firm news on a local launch, aside from filing a local trademark application late last year, we are still keeping an eye on it.

What is it and when did it start?

Jetour (or Jietu) debuted in China in January 2018, as a self-proclaimed “new face” backed by “old aristocrat” Chery Group. The company’s first model was the X70 seven-seat SUV.

At launch, it claimed to have its own design and R&D team of more than 700 people, tasked with building family-friendly cars with a spirit of adventure.

Its parent company Chery is much larger, with nearly 50,000 employees and a presence in 80 countries.

It showed the world a concept called Jetour X in Beijing on April 24, 2018, a design preview of the planned next-generation services.

Who owns it and where is it based?

Chery Holding owns Jetour and is headquartered in China’s Anhui province.

What is its market?

China is its main market. According to the announcement in February 2023, Jetour sold about 660,000 vehicles in the first 5 years of operation.

However, the company has branched out, entering Central and South America in July 2019, the Middle East in January 2020 and Africa in December 2020.

It is available in Uruguay, Ecuador, Bolivia, Angola, Myanmar, UAE, Bahrain, Chile, Kuwait, Peru, Colombia, Paraguay, Mexico, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran, Azerbaijan, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Libya, Nigeria, Cambodia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Moldova.

What is its means?

The Jetour X70 series is about the size of a Mitsubishi Outlander (4.7m long) and similarly available small third row seats. Most use a turbocharged petrol engine but there’s also an X70S EV with an LFP battery and a claimed 401 km range in China’s tolerance range test.

Newer products include the larger Jetour X90 series (4.9m), which has three rows of seats and a more modern design. It looks very similar to vehicles like Toyota Kluger.

Latest in the bunch is the Jetour Dashing (a departure from the nomenclature), a 4.6m-long mid-size SUV that uses a turbocharged petrol engine and offers some sleek, well-rounded styling.

What is next?

Chery’s Jetour sub-brand is preparing to produce a series of rugged-looking vehicles, the first of which will be called the Traveler. that is revealed at the end of February 2023.

Jetour Traveler has a boxy shape reminiscent of Tank GWM 300, was recently sold in Australia. It will be about 4.8m long and offer turbocharged petrol and PHEV powertrains, with mechanical all-wheel drive and a locking differential.

Chinese company tease some upcoming vehicles in early March. Some of the highlights in the fuzzy lineup trailer include the seven-seat Traveler T1L with an extended wheelbase, a larger all-terrain vehicle called the T-2/T-3, and even a a ute named P-2/P-3.

As for Australia? Stay tuned, as we know that Chery has big plans.

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