Sharp-looking five-seater to provision in plug-in hybrid as well as full petrol form.

AMBITION is driving new entrant Omoda to point where - though it has yet to open any dealers, set any pricing or sell any cars - it is already adding to the incoming family, including with a swank flagship.

As a make with luxury genes, this wing of China’s Chery - a name that won’t be used again, due it having been here, and failed to do that with budget fare - is kicking into selling mode in March with a medium crossover, the C5, in two petrol formats with an electric E5 to follow.

A slightly different formula - a full petrol an a plug-in petrol electric drivetrain - will apply to the larger C9, which is the make’s flagship in many of the handful of other export markets it has.

Confirmation this five-seater will also be availed in New Zealand in 2024, when Omoda will be open for business with 12 dealerships, announced in Auckland yesterday.

Omoda NZ says the C9 and lookalike sister battery-assisted E9 PHEV will also be joined in 2025 by another crossover, the C7. This also has an E7 PHEV equivalent.

As announced last week, also incoming - but bearing the Jaecoo badge, are more sports utility-tuned types, the banner, J7 and J8, also each with a plug-in hybrid alternate to a full petrol. 

Omoda says C9 raises the luxury ante with pop-out door handles, a floating bridge design dash with a curved screen, augmented-reality (AR) navigation and facial recognition.

The export variant pictured today made its global reveal recently in South Africa, where it showed off with heated/cooled and massage-enabled front and rear seats with diamond-pattern leather upholstery, panoramic sunroof, a 50W wireless ultra-fast charger and a nine-speaker Sony sound system. 

Safety comprises ABS brakes, stability control, airbags and a host of driving assistance systems including automatic headlights, rain-sensing wipers, adaptive cruise control (ACC), forward-collision warning, emergency braking, blind spot detection (BSD), lane keeping and rear cross-traffic alert.

Omoda has yet to discuss the E9 drivetrain, but it seems C9 applies a turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol with 193kW and 400Nm feeding all-wheel drive via an eight-speed automatic transmission.

C5 is set to arrive in the first quarter of next year, with confirmation in November of three powertrain options, two four-cylinder petrols, with an electric following. Prices have yet to be shared. 

Both petrol engines will avail across two trim options. The highest-end Premium will have a 147kW/290Nm 1.6-litre turbo petrol married to a seven-speed automatic and in all-wheel-drive, though otherwise front-drive is the go.

The priciest C5 provisions with a leather steering wheel, a power sunroof, heated steering wheel, heated front seats, an ambient lighting pack, red brake callipers and 18-inch alloy wheels. 

These are enhancements over the base car, which in cheapest form runs a 108kW/210Nm 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol paired with a continuously variable transmission.

Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and wireless charging are standard and a 17-function advanced driving system package; ACC adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist and autonomous emergency braking are among provisions.

The E5 runs a 61kWh battery pack with the make citing a 450km range cited and a 10-80 percent charging time of around 35 minutes from a DC fast charger.

The C5 and E5 share the same bodywork, but differ in frontal styling. Whereas the petrol has an open grille, for air flow, the electric has a closed-off, body-coloured panel, and a restyled lower bumper. 

The C5 was recently meted a five star crash test credential from the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP), though it was criticised in some areas. It is unclear if that score will transfer to the electric, but often that is not the case.

The Omoda name? It derives from Oxygen and Moda, meaning modern. Chery envisages an ‘O-Universe Ecology’ in which there is a technology-centric ‘O Club’, a development centre ‘O Lab’, a design-led ‘O Fashion’ and a modern landscape ‘O Life.’ Omoda says its current designs adhere to an ‘art in motion’ philosophy.