At its media appreciation night today, Chery Corporate Malaysia has outlined its plans for the coming year. The company announced that four new models will be launched, joining the Tiggo 8 that was introduced earlier this month.
While the company did not directly name the cars that are on their way, we can already deduce that “redefining flagship luxury” in the second quarter refers to the Tiggo 9. Chery already confirmed that the car would be coming here in the first half of the year.
In China, where it’s sold as the 9X, the Tiggo 9 is offered with the Tiggo 8 Pro‘s 254 PS/390 Nm 2.0 litre turbo four-cylinder engine, mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox. It was also previewed at last year’s Bangkok Motor Show with the plug-in Chery Super Hybrid (CSH) powertrain.
This utilises two electric motors at the front – one with 102 PS and 170 Nm, the other with 122 PS and 220 Nm. This is mixed with a 156 PS/220 Nm 1.5 litre turbo four-pot for a combined 381 PS and 610 Nm, enabling a zero-to-100 km/h time of 8.9 seconds. We expect both versions to be offered in Malaysia, with the PHEV model probably arriving at a later date.
The identities of the other models are less clear. We do know that a second facelift for the O5 (née Omoda 5) is coming this year, and we may also see the smaller Omoda 4. However, there are rumours that these cars will be hived off to the separate Omoda & Jaecoo brand, joining the Omoda C9.
That leaves the third-quarter models ripe for speculation. Chery introduced the second-generation Tiggo 8 in China in September, but this will sit uncomfortably close to the practically identical Lepas L8, which is coming to Malaysia.
Looking elsewhere in the current lineup, the petrol-powered Tiggo 7 Pro is a little long in the tooth. Launched in 2024, it’s a step behind the PHEV model, so we may see an update for it as well. We won’t know for sure until the company releases more information, but we should find out more when Beijing’s Auto China show rolls around in April.
Last but not least is an update to the CSH lineup in Malaysia. Given that the Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8 PHEV are still relatively fresh, it’s unlikely that these will be replaced, so it’s likely that it will be a new model instead. Maybe that Tiggo 9 PHEV?
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