Chery Arrives in the UK
The Chinese car industry has been edging closer to the UK for years, and now one of its giants has finally landed. Chery, China’s largest vehicle exporter for 22 consecutive years and a top 500 global company, has officially launched its UK operations. The brand chose London’s O2 arena for its debut – a setting more commonly associated with big-name concerts and glittering premieres – signalling that this is no tentative entry.
CHERY UK Country Director Farrell Hsu
A Full SUV Family
From day one, Chery is offering a complete SUV line-up. Leading the charge are the Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8 – both available with conventional petrol powertrains and Chery’s latest, and rather impressive, Super Hybrid PHEV system. Within six months, the range will be bookended by the larger Tiggo 9 and the smaller Tiggo 4, giving British buyers four SUVs pitched directly at the heart of the family car market. Prices start at £24,995 for the Tiggo 7, rising to £33,545 for the seven-seat Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid. The Tiggo 7 PHEV will become the UK’s most affordable PHEV SUV with OTR pricing starting at £29,995.
Chery’s timing is deliberate. Omoda and Jaecoo – its sister brands – have already shown the appetite for well-equipped Chinese SUVs, with Omoda UK carving out a 2.71% market share just a year after launch, something UK CEO Gary Lan described as a “happy accident”. Mr Lan was keen to point out, however, that Chery want to grow sustainably, so are in no rush for marklet domination; he underlined this point by explaining that Chery had been preparing for their UK launch for the last 20 years so it was important to get it right rather than simply push for growth at any cost.
The Chery blueprint is quite clear: offer good-looking, well-specified cars at accessible prices that will appeal to everyday families, and back them with reassuring aftersales support. Every Chery sold here will come with a seven-year warranty, RAC roadside assistance, and a parts and service network designed with insurers and repairers in mind. They also offer a competitive 3-year service plan for £500.
The Chery Tiggo 7 has a very premium feel for a family SUV starting at just £24,995
Building the Network
Chery UK is starting with 25 franchised dealerships, but the real ambition is much bigger. The target is 120 sites by the end of 2026, a rapid roll-out made possible by the brand’s existing links with Omoda & Jaecoo retailers. Crucially, dealer heavyweight Sytner has already signed up, alongside several other major names – a strong sign that the trade is taking Chery seriously.
A Serious Global Player
Globally, Chery is anything but a newcomer. Since its founding in 1997, it has sold more than five million vehicles worldwide, and it has been China’s number one vehicle exporter for more than two decades. It was also the first Chinese manufacturer to develop its own powertrains and chassis – a claim few of its rivals can make. Its Frankfurt-based engineering hub ensures that the cars heading to the UK meet European standards for performance, safety and quality, and a UK R&D centre is already on the horizon. Mr Lan explained that ”Chery needs to adapt cars for the UK market”, he offered the example of roundabouts “in the UK we have roundabouts to contend with, these are not present in many other global markets so we need a car that can perform in these situations”.
CHERY UK CEO Gary Lan
What This Means for UK Buyers
The arrival of Chery adds more fuel to an already fast-moving SUV market. While Volkswagen, Hyundai, and Nissan may not feel threatened just yet, Chery is positioning itself squarely against them: family SUVs with competitive pricing, high equipment levels, and long warranties. In a cost-conscious market, that’s a compelling pitch. If I were in the C-Suite at Stellantios right now, I would be readying the troops as they are one of several global car giants that need to sit up and take notice.
It’s easy to be sceptical about new names arriving on British shores. Yet with Omoda and Jaecoo already proving that Chinese brands can establish themselves here quickly, Chery’s launch feels less like a gamble and more like the next logical step. If the brand can deliver on its promises of value, technology, and dependability, it could well become a regular sight on British roads far sooner than many expect.
Test Drives?
Keep an eye on the YouTube channel over the next few weeks as I take my first drive in a Chery.
For more information on the Chery range, head over to https://www.cherycar.co.uk