Collectively known as O&J–Omoda and Jaecoo–are both young brands who want to appeal to the hip and cool, hungry for new adventures
THE Auto Shanghai 2023 was the stage where the O&J (Omoda and Jaecoo) brand consortium made their debut last August 18. The launch revealed the Omoda 5 e-QUA, the brand’s first purely electric car, and the Jaecoo 7 and 9 targeted for the young Gen-Z market.
Auto Shanghai 2023 also known as the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition is the first international top tier auto exhibition after the pandemic. Over 1,000 automotive brands, for vehicles, products, and services attended.
Chery International, the holdings company behind the establishment of the two new brands, said in a press statement that their coming out with the new brands “exactly demonstrates its concept of embracing young-minded users and the industry, as it is driven by the new industry situation and new consumer trends, new brands, technologies, and products emerged intensively at the show, providing new energy for the global automobile market.”
Two days after the show, O&J did a second event reveal at the O&J Brand Day at Chery International’s Headquarters in Wuhu, Anhui Province in China. There O&J’s new energy technology was unveiled, which provides the “optimal solutions” for users to practice environmental protection, low-carbon, and green travel.
Debuting at the O&J Brand Day, are 15 core technologies and 7 new models in four major fields to meet the needs of two groups of consumers, both brands as they strive “to build a technology innovation chain for globalization” in a time the brand defined as “new era, to create a new automotive ecosystem.” This new ecosystem involved both new electric vehicles and the technologies essential to operating each under a highly digitalized environment.
According to Zhang Guibing, General Manager of Chery International, the creation of both brands came as a result of a “direct segmenting” of the market focused on the “new generation to start a trendy and cool lifestyle.”
He also revealed the Omoda’s granular approach to its market–with product planning and research done by interfacing directly with the market. This effort gained more than 3 million interactions, 3 billion exposures, and 10,000 user exchanges through 1,200 pictures becoming a global live streaming research. By doing so Omoda was able to “fully embrace” who the intended modern and young-minded users are, defined by being “dynamic, energetic, and fashionable,” which are collectively called “new elites.”
At Auto Shanghai 2023, Omoda declared its independence from the Chery brand with its 5 e-QUA electric vehicle. This independence is shown in the design philosophy and the marketing approach which Guibing said marks a “a new era of full-scale advancement towards intelligent and new energy technology products,” and reflects a global automotive development entering “the fourth window of opportunity in history” which is the rise of personalized products. Omoda will find itself securely in that space.
As of the first quarter of this 2023, Omoda has sold approximately 13,000 units with sustained growth in markets it first started in, including Mexico, Israel, and Kuwait. O&J brands together target a global sales of 1,400,000 units by 2030. In the Philippines, the brand is expected to fully start operations by the middle of this year.
It is not sure if Jaecoo will also launch in the Philippines with the same time frame or under the same distributor. The brand, focusing on creating an “urban off-road SUV brand designed for urban elites with extraordinary tastes for a high-end driving experience.”
