‘Temu Range Rover’: what the bestselling Jaecoo 7 says about China’s electric car ascendancy | Automotive industry
The UK is no stranger to foreign cars. The bestseller lists in recent years have been dominated by the US’s Ford Puma, Japan’s Nissan Qashqai, Korea’s Kia Sportage and occasionally even Tesla’s Model Y. But in March the top 10 provided a shock: a Chinese car leapt into the lead. Little more than a year after launching in the UK, China’s Chery sold 10,064 of its Jaecoo 7 crossover SUVs during the month, beating all the usual suspects. It was not the first Chinese-made car to make it to UK number one (it follows Tesla’s Shanghai-made Model 3 and the HS made by MG, a formerly British brand owned by China’s SAIC). But the manner of the Jaecoo’s ascent has been dizzying, and Chery has made it clear it wants to keep that spot. Chery, partly state-owned, has been the largest Chinese exporter for the past 23 years, but now it is making an aggressive push into Europe, starting with sales of its Omoda, Lepas and Chery brands in the UK, Spain and Italy. Chery …
