The Chery Omoda 5 won’t just be getting an all-electric option in 2024 – the company plans to add a more powerful variant with all-wheel drive (AWD) next year as well.
Director of product and aftersales at Chery Australia, Lucas Harris, confirmed with CarExpert at the launch of the new Tiggo 7 Pro SUV that the MY24 Omoda line-up will also see the addition of the larger turbocharged 1.6-litre engine with available all-wheel drive.
“The MY24 Omoda 5 will add those variants – we’ll have a 1.6T and 1.6T AWD,” Mr Harris said. When asked when in 2024 these variants would arrive, Mr Harris added the Omoda 5 1.6T should be “available very early next year”.
Previously, Chery Australia has indicated there will be a pair of EX+ versions of the Omoda 5 coming to Australia with the turbocharged 1.6-litre engine, building on the existing top-spec EX version with the smaller 1.5T.
The Omoda 5 1.6T offers 145kW of power and 290Nm of torque, with drive sent to either the front or all four wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. For reference, the Omoda 5 1.5T makes 115kW/230Nm, employs a continuously variable transmission (CVT), and is FWD only.
Further, the more powerful Omoda 5 models will swap out the existing range’s torsion beam rear suspension for a more sophisticated multilink rear setup. This usually results in better ride comfort particularly over sharper hits at the rear, in addition to better handling and road-holding.
Pricing and specification are still to be confirmed, though given the early 2024 signpost provided by Mr Harris, market details shouldn’t be far off.
The Omoda 5 launched in March, and through to the end of October Chery has registered 4271 examples for a 3.5 per cent share of the VFACTS small SUV under $45,000 segment. That puts the Chery essentially on par with the likes of the Toyota C-HR (4750 units, 3.8 per cent share).
Further to the addition of the 1.6T models, Chery Australia has confirmed it will also add an all-electric version of the Omoda 5 to the local range around mid-2024, giving the Chinese brand a direct rival to fellow Chinese offerings like the BYD Atto 3 and MG ZS EV.
Stay tuned to CarExpert for all the latest Chery updates.
MORE: Everything Chery Omoda 5
