Omoda is a young export only brand created in 2022 by Chery Automobile, one of China’s oldest and largest carmakers. Chery itself was founded in 1997 in Wuhu, in China’s Anhui province, and has been the country’s largest independent vehicle exporter every year since 2003, selling cars in more than 80 countries. Omoda, along with its sister brand Jaecoo, exists specifically to sell cars outside China, similar in spirit to how Toyota built Lexus for markets beyond Japan. Neither Omoda nor Jaecoo is available to buy in China itself.
Omoda
Last updated: August 1, 2026
Omoda Overview
The Omoda name blends the words oxygen and moda, the Italian word for modern, and the brand was first announced for the Russian market in mid 2022, positioned as a step up from the mainstream Chery badge. It debuted more broadly through 2023, and reached the UK in May 2024 with its first two models, the petrol powered Omoda 5 and the fully electric Omoda E5.
Growth since then has been fast. Omoda and Jaecoo together passed one million combined global sales in April 2026, less than three years after the brands first launched, a pace few manufacturers have matched. In the UK specifically, Omoda has expanded quickly from its original two model lineup to include plug in hybrid SUVs aimed squarely at established rivals like the Volkswagen Tiguan and Kia Sportage, while consistently undercutting them on price.
Most Omoda vehicles are built in China, at Chery’s manufacturing base in Wuhu, using the same T1X modular platform that underpins several of Chery’s other brands. To support its international growth, the company has also begun building cars closer to the markets that buy them. A joint venture with the Spanish company EV Motors, announced in April 2024, will see Omoda vehicles built at a former Nissan factory in Barcelona, while a separate plant in Rayong, Thailand, opened in 2024 to serve Southeast Asian buyers and support the wider region’s shift toward electrified vehicles.
Omoda’s UK lineup mixes electric, hybrid and plug in hybrid power. The Omoda 5 is the brand’s original compact SUV, now offered with a self charging Super Hybrid System alongside its petrol engine. The Omoda E5 is its fully electric equivalent, sharing the same body but built on a dedicated EV powertrain. Moving up in size, the Omoda 7 is a larger plug in hybrid family SUV that competes directly with cars like the Tucson and Sportage, while the flagship Omoda 9 sits above it as a genuinely quick, generously equipped plug in hybrid aimed at buyers who might otherwise be looking at premium German SUVs, at a noticeably lower price.
A recurring theme across the range is Omoda’s warranty, typically seven years and up to 100,000 or even 150,000 miles depending on the model, among the longest offered by any manufacturer selling in the UK. Combined with aggressive pricing and generous standard equipment, it’s a strategy that has helped a brand nobody had heard of in 2022 build a genuinely serious presence in a crowded market within just a few years.
