Batchelors Motor Group is the latest UK automotive retailer to partner with new Chinese brand Omoda and Jaecoo with a showroom in York.
The group started sales with the new brand this month and is leading with the new Omoda 5 and Jaecoo J7.
Batchelors will be covering the Omoda and Jaecoo region for North Yorkshire, including York, Ripon, Harrogate, Scarborough, Malton, Pickering, Boroughbridge, Thirsk and more.
Batchelors Motor Group MD Tony Denton told AM in an in-depth interview in 2019 that the business was being courted even then by several potential new brands, in addition to the group’s established relationships with Suzuki, Renault, Dacia and at the time Mitsubishi.
Mitsubishi made a shock exit from the UK market in 2020, creating a natural opportunity for another brand partner.
Omoda and Jaecoo are owned by Chery, one of the largest car manufacturers in China.
It is launching with electric and petrol models and the UK dealer network is growing rapidly, helped by Matthew Banks, Omoda and Jaecoo’s UK dealer development manager, who joined the business in October 2023 from Hyundai UK.
Omoda has recruited a network of 64 franchised dealers which are ready to start selling and servicing from September.
It is targeting 100 locations by the end of the year and 150 by the end of 2025.
The brands are looking to be as big as Kia by sales volumes “within the next five years”.
In 2025 Omoda and Jaecoo will expand for a range of three or four cars, with an expectation to achieve 30,000 registrations, split fairly equally between retail and fleet.
Cars slated for release include the Jaecoo J5 compact SUV and Omoda C3 B-segment (Fiesta-size) cars with ICE, BEV and PHEV options.
Further down the line is the larger J9 SUV, which is badged as Exceed (Chery’s luxury brand) in other markets.
In terms of UK positioning, Omodo will be the volume marque “with elements of premium”, while Jaecoo is premium “with elements of luxury”, Clayton explained.
As well as Exceed, Chery also owns the iCar micro car brand, although it is unlikely to come to the UK.
