The local head of Chery has said that the brand has no plans to ditch its internal combustion models if people are still interested in buying them.
Petrol models will continue to be offered by Chery until there’s no longer demand for them, its local boss has said.
Speaking with Drive at the launch of the Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid SUVs, Chery Australia’s Chief Operating Officer Lucas Harris said the brand would “be led by consumer demand” rather than emissions standards.
At present, Chery offers eight vehicles in Australia, covering a mix of petrol, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fully-electric powertrains.
Asked if Chery would drop petrol-only versions of the Tiggo 4 and C5 small, or Tiggo 7 and 8 medium-sized SUVs now that it has more electrified options in its line-up, Harris said no.
“I think we'll largely be led by consumer demand,” he told us.
“If, all of a sudden, every customer only wants to buy a hybrid or a Super Hybrid, and then there's no sales volume for ICE (internal combustion engines), well then, the customer has spoken, right?
“But if there's still an equal, or greater, demand for the ICE vehicles, well, then give the people what they want rather than what we think.”
When asked if the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) is having an impact on Chery’s product planning, or if the brand expects it to in the near future, Harris said he was confident they were following the right path.
NVES is the Australian emissions policy that regulates the volume of carbon emissions new passenger and light commercial vehicles emit.
It was introduced on January 1 this year, but car makers have only been at risk of fines for going over their targets since July 1.
“We’ve got so much great product in those right powertrains that honestly speaking, we've not really been that concerned about the NVES,” he told Drive.
“We are very fortunate that from a global perspective, there's such a big focus on new technology like plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicles.
“I think naturally, for any brand, if a hundred per cent of sales are going to be ICE, then obviously that's going to be problematic, and I'm sure that there would be flow-on costs for consumers.
“I think that customers are naturally changing into hybrid vehicles, and before we launched our Super Hybrids, we got a lot of inquiries about hybrids. So it has come at a good time for us.”
Chery’s extended line-up, in order of size, is now made up of the Tiggo 4 and Tiggo 4 Hybrid, Omoda C5 and Omoda E5, Tiggo 7 Pro SE and Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid, and Tiggo 8 Pro Max and Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid.
The Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid and Omoda 9 are both expected later in the year.
A born-and-bred newshound, Kathryn has worked her way up through the ranks reporting for, and later editing, two renowned UK regional newspapers and websites, before moving on to join the digital newsdesk of one of the world’s most popular newspapers – The Sun. More recently, she’s done a short stint in PR in the not-for-profit sector, and led the news team at Wheels Media.
