Omoda and Jaecoo remain flexible on 2035 ICE ban and look at UK production to dodge tariffs

The 2035 ban on new petrol and diesel cars is expected to be brought forward to 2030 under a new Labour government, but Chinese firms Omoda and Jaecoo aren’t worried. 

That’s because the new Omoda 5 and Jaecoo J7 both come with petrol-powered and pure-electric versions as the Chery-owned brands look to cater for as many buyers as possible. Speaking exclusively to Auto Express, Victor Zhang, Executive Vice President of Jaecoo and Omoda UK, said both firms are able to commit to pure-EV ahead of any ban. “At this moment it is still officially 2035, I think it is still a debate between 2035 and 2030, but if the government changes it then we can change accordingly.” 

A new ICE car ban isn’t the only issue Omoda and Jaecoo will have to navigate, however. Zhang also said he wasn’t too concerned if the UK follows the EU in adding higher tariffs to Chinese import cars. “If the government really wants to follow this we will still try and find a solution, possibly get local production. This is possibly in our strategy, it’s under consideration - but local production is not a small thing. It is promising we will do something more in the UK at this moment we are still doing analysis.” 

As for the kind of brands Omoda and Jaecoo will rival, Zhang said, “with Omoda we are possibly talking about Kia, but with Jaecoo I think we are talking more about Range Rover. This is what we want to aim for. At this moment we will have only SUVs in our line up, but we will keep updating our policies accordingly based on what the customer really wants.” 

The Omoda 5 will arrive with UK customers soon and will be followed by the Omoda 9 mid-size SUV towards the end of the year with another SUV, the Omoda 7, arriving in early 2025. 

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