Omoda — Chery's Crossover Brand for Markets Outside China
Omoda is a car brand of Chery Automobile, the state-founded Chinese manufacturer from Wuhu in Anhui province. Established in 2022 as part of Chery International, it sells crossovers, saloons and electric cars only outside China, usually through dealers it shares with its sister brand Jaecoo. Its first model, the Omoda 5 (C5), earned five stars from Euro NCAP in 2022. The brand reached Spain in March 2024 and Britain in May 2024, and together with Jaecoo passed one million sales by April 2026.
Key takeaways
- Chery established Omoda in 2022; the brand's global debut, together with Jaecoo, took place in Wuhu in April 2023.
- Chery says the "O" stands for oxygen and "Moda" for modern; in Iran the brand is called Ecoda.
- The Omoda 5 was unveiled at Auto Guangzhou in November 2021 and rated five stars by Euro NCAP on 7 December 2022, a result later extended to the electric E5.
- Omoda and Jaecoo reached 600,000 combined sales by August 2025 and more than 1,000,000 by April 2026.
Omoda at a glance
| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2022, as a sub-division of Chery International |
| Parent | Chery Automobile, Wuhu, Anhui, China |
| Sister brand | Jaecoo (together "O&J") |
| Markets | Worldwide except China and the US |
| First model | Omoda 5 / C5, production from February 2022 |
| Models | Omoda 5 (C5), E5, C7, C9 (Omoda 9), 3, S5 |
| CEO | Shawn Xu (Omoda & Jaecoo) |
| Target | 1,400,000 annual sales with Jaecoo by 2030, outside China |
Chery's export push
Chery was founded on 8 January 1997 by officials of the city of Wuhu as a state-owned enterprise. Its first car, the Fengyun of 1999, was based on an unlicensed copy of the SEAT Toledo bodyshell. Exports became its strength: Chery has been the leading exporter of Chinese-brand passenger cars since 2003, apart from 2022. Its exports grew from 269,154 in 2021 to 1,144,588 in 2024. In 2025 it reported 2,806,393 vehicles. Its first separate brand, Exeed, was presented in 2017; in the 2020s Chery added brands sold only abroad to support its export strategy.
In 2023 Chery also launched iCar, an electric SUV brand, and Luxeed, a premium electric brand created with Huawei. Omoda and Jaecoo were the two brands created purely for export. Omoda came first. It was established in 2022 as a sub-division of Chery International and announced as an independent brand in June 2022. According to Chery, the "O" stands for oxygen and "Moda" means modern. Chery's president Zhang Guibing described the target buyers as the "Fashion Elite", and design is led by Steve Eum, Chery's vice-president and general manager of design in China.
The Omoda 5 and the E5
The first model was the Omoda 5, developed under the code name "X-C" and unveiled at Auto Guangzhou in November 2021. Production in Wuhu began in February 2022, and it went on sale in China as the Chery Omoda 5 in the second quarter of 2022. In October 2022 it became the first car sold under the Omoda brand, as the C5. The main petrol engines are a 1.6-litre turbo with 147 kW (200 PS) and a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, later rated at 108 kW (147 PS) in Britain. A 1.5-litre turbo with 108 to 115 kW and a CVT is also offered.
Euro NCAP published its five-star rating for the Omoda 5 on 7 December 2022. In 2024 it confirmed, after additional tests, that the rating also applies to the electric version, the E5. The E5, launched at Auto Shanghai in April 2023, has a 150 kW (204 PS) motor and a 61 kWh battery at launch. A hybrid version of the petrol car followed in 2026 in Indonesia, Vietnam and South Africa. Besides Wuhu, the model is assembled in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, among other plants. The versions are covered in the Omoda 5 and E5 guide.
A global launch with Jaecoo
In April 2023 Chery presented Omoda and the new Jaecoo brand together in Wuhu as sister brands for export markets. It set up Anhui Omoda Jaecoo Automobile Co., Ltd. as their sales company. Omoda is positioned above the Chery brand, and in many countries the two brands share showrooms. The same month Omoda launched in South Africa as a premium brand, sold through Chery dealers. In May 2023 it became an independent brand in Mexico, where the former Chirey Omoda 5 became the Omoda C5 with 70 planned dealers.
Europe followed in 2024. Spain, the first Western European market, came in March 2024, Britain in May 2024 with the Omoda 5 and E5, and Italy in July 2024. In April 2024 Chery signed a joint venture with the Spanish company EV Motors to build cars in a former Nissan factory in Barcelona. There, assembly of Chery models under the Ebro name began in November 2024. Jaecoo models are listed in the Jaecoo catalogue.
A wider range
From 2024 the range grew mainly through rebadged Chery and Exeed models. The C9, also called the Omoda 9, is a version of the Exeed RX with a plug-in hybrid drive. It was on display at the IAA in Munich in 2025. The C7 is based on the Chery Tiggo 7L, with a plug-in hybrid variant, and was introduced in Wuhu in April 2024. The S5 and S5 GT are versions of the Chery Arrizo 5 Plus and Arrizo 5 GT saloons, and the Omoda 3 is a Tiggo 3x sold only in Morocco. The small C3 was introduced in April 2025. A subcompact SUV family called 4 is planned.
The brand's growth has been rapid. By August 2025, 27 months after the global launch, Omoda and Jaecoo had sold 600,000 cars together, and by April 2026 they had passed one million. Their joint target is 1,400,000 sales a year outside China by 2030. Omoda models on 1cars are listed in the Omoda catalogue, and similar crossovers are compared among the best small SUVs.
Omoda timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2021 | Omoda 5 unveiled at Auto Guangzhou (November) |
| 2022 | Omoda 5 production begins (February); Omoda announced as a brand (June); first C5 sales (October); Euro NCAP five stars (7 December) |
| 2023 | Global debut with Jaecoo in Wuhu (April); E5 at Auto Shanghai; South Africa and Mexico |
| 2024 | Spain (March), Britain (May), Italy (July); Barcelona joint venture (April); C7 introduced |
| 2025 | C3 introduced (April); 600,000 sales with Jaecoo (August) |
| 2026 | More than 1,000,000 Omoda and Jaecoo sales (April) |
Landmark Omoda models
| Model | Years | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Omoda 5 / C5 | 2022–present | First Omoda, Euro NCAP five stars |
| E5 | 2024–present | Battery-electric version with 150 kW |
| C9 / Omoda 9 | 2024–present | Plug-in hybrid flagship based on the Exeed RX |
| C7 | 2025–present | Tiggo 7L-based SUV with plug-in hybrid |
Photo gallery
FAQ
Who makes Omoda cars?
Chery Automobile of Wuhu, China. Omoda is one of Chery's export brands, together with Jaecoo.
What does the name Omoda mean?
According to Chery, the "O" stands for oxygen and "Moda" means modern.
Is the Omoda 5 safe?
Euro NCAP gave the Omoda 5 five stars in December 2022 and later confirmed that the rating also covers the electric E5.
Are Omoda cars sold in China?
Not under the Omoda brand. The car is sold in China as the Chery Omoda 5, while Omoda itself serves export markets.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Omoda (accessed 24 Oct 2026)
- Wikipedia — Chery Omoda 5 (accessed 24 Oct 2026)
- Wikipedia — Jaecoo (accessed 24 Oct 2026)
- Wikipedia — Chery (accessed 24 Oct 2026)
- Euro NCAP — Chery Omoda5, 2022 results, 5 stars (accessed 24 Oct 2026)
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