Chery product onslaught continues with Omoda 4

CHERY’S Omoda-Jaecoo premium arm has revealed a new compact SUV called the Omoda 4 following a last-minute name change from Omoda 3 reportedly announced at the model's official unveiling in China.

A Chery Australia spokesperson told GoAuto “there is no confirmed timing” for the Omoda 4 to launch Down Under, although the model is already confirmed for the right-hand drive UK market in the latter part of next year.

The striking new compact SUV channels a Lamborghini Urus even more directly than the GWM Haval H6 GT, down to a red flap covering its starter button. Depending on market, it will be sold with internal combustion engine, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric powertrains.

Following the debut of the Omoda 3 concept earlier this year, Chery has renamed it Omoda 4 in production form, which company executives told British publication Car was to account for a wheelbase stretch in response to customer feedback

The 4.4-metre-long crossover is longer than the Chery C5/E5 sold in Australia and previously badged Omoda 5 here, suggesting the Omoda 3 nameplate may remain reserved for a future entry-level model.

Although Omoda appears to be launching a more angular and aggressive design language called 'Cyber Mecha' with the 4, the car-maker also debuted a larger Omoda 7 model at Chery’s User Summit event that has styling more consistent with Omodas 5 and 9.

Chery also appears to have borrowed from US electric vehicle start-up Slate with the 6=1 concept that can transform from a seven-seat large SUV to dual-cab ute to camper van in an attempt for a single car to “cover 99 per cent of family mobility scenarios”.

More conventionally, the Omoda 7 medium SUV that is expected to launch early next year has a plug-in hybrid driveline like that of the Omoda 9 large coupe-SUV that arrived Down Under in August and an even more advanced version of Chery’s automated parking technology said to support “over 1000 different parking scenarios”.

Chery also announced that the Omoda 5 (branded Chery in Australia) will get a plug-in hybrid option delivering a combined 165kW and WLTP range of 1000km from a full battery and full tank of petrol.

With the more youth-oriented Omoda 4, Chery says it has taken inspiration from the gaming world with liberal use of LED illumination plus an interior design inspired by starships, resulting in red wraparound LED interior lighting and a high-set centre console with physical buttons for accessing climate control adjustments.