Chery has entered the Malaysian market guns ablaze, with its main marque already firmly established here and its lifestyle-oriented Jaecoo brand launching very soon. But it’s not done yet – a third brand is being prepared for a local entrance here, and it’s Jetour.
The SUV brand is set to debut in the second half of the year, not too long after Jaecoo. But hang on – aren’t Chery and Jaecoo already SUV brands in their own right? Yes, but in Malaysia at least, Jetour and Chery (and Jaecoo) are being managed by two completely separate entities, so they will end up being competitors in the same turf.
Jetour SUVs are also slightly upmarket compared to Chery’s, something that will be borne out by the vehicles that will be brought in. This year will see the launch of the five-seater Dashing and seven-seater X70 Plus (not to be confused with the Proton X70), competing in the C- and D-segment crossover markets respectively.
The Dashing is the newer of the two, based on Jetour’s own Kunlun architecture. This sleek, premium-looking SUV has shades of Lamborghini Urus and Maserati Grecale in its design, plus a chrome window/D-pillar strip and flush pop-out door handles. Inside, you get a floating infotainment touchscreen measuring up to 15.6 inches, a flat top and bottom for the steering wheel and even an outside temperature display on the doors.
But while the Dashing looks different from a Chery and Jaecoo on the outside, the mechanicals are very similar. You get the choice of two turbocharged four-cylinder engines – a 156 PS/230 Nm 1.5 litre mill from the Omoda 5 or a 197 PS/290 Nm 1.6 litre unit from the Tiggo 7 Pro and Jaecoo J7. Unlike the Omoda 5, the Dashing’s 1.5 litre engine is paired to the same seven-speed wet dual-clutch transmission as the 1.6 litre version, rather than a CVT.
The same is true for the larger X70 Plus, which gets the same 1.5 and 1.6 litre turbo and DCT combo, as well as the 256 PS/390 Nm 2.0 litre turbo from the Tiggo 8 Pro. This car has been around since Jetour’s formation in 2018; the Plus in its name denotes a comprehensive facelift that adds shapely headlights, a large hexagonal grille, full chrome window surrounds and full-width taillights.
On the inside, you get a Mercedes-style widescreen display panel with a 10.25-inch centre touchscreen, plus a Land Rover-esque separate display and physical dials for the air conditioning. Of course, there’s the elephant in the room that is the fact that the X70 Plus shares its name with a certain national SUV, and a Jetour rep says the car will likely be renamed for the Malaysian market.
Both these cars were chosen for its Malaysian debut because they are the first to be converted to right-hand drive, with small-scale production having already kicked off at the end of last year for us and Indonesia. The company will hit the ground running with CKD local assembly from the start (just like Jaecoo) so that it can compete with others in the segment in terms of price.
Beyond that, Jetour plans to introduce the Traveller (also known as the T2), a rugged crossover that bears similar styling to the Ford Bronco and Land Rover Defender. The company had planned to bring the car in together with the other two, but production of the RHD variant had been delayed and is now only scheduled to start in July or August.
Taking into account CKD tooling and the usual validation and approval process, the Traveller is slated to go on sale in Malaysia next year. There are also plans to enter the electric vehicle market via a yet-to-be-announced sedan, although no details have been set in stone.
Jetour had set up office in Malaysia a few months ago as a separate company from Chery Malaysia with an independent management team. Since then, it has been in constant engagement with government agencies such as the ministry of finance, ministry of international trade and industry (MITI) and the Road Transport Department to obtain the necessary approvals for the Dashing and X70 Plus.
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When it rains, it pours now ain’t it.
This is perfect. One could look at it from the perspective of ASEAN countries becoming a dumping ground for Chinese OEMs, but the other perspective is that this puts immense pressure on the “legacy” manufacturers in Malaysia who have gotten complacent with no serious competition in such a long time.
Just look at Honda Malaysia struggling to sell MY2023 cars from late last year even up till Hari Raya 2024.
And of course, as consumers we’ll all benefit.
Ah. No.
More and more China car brand entering Malaysia… slowly overtake conti and JDM brands.
What talking you? Proton not rebadged tongsan car?
Just like phone, middle kingdom can flood the market with all sort of funny names and models. In the end, only a few survive like those second rated brands like Vivo and Oppo. People may be tempting to try due to the low prices. Over time, they will go back to more reliable brands. Look at the BYD second hand listing. They are almost brand new.
As China subsidizing EV
as they not doing well
back in the kingdom
Please china please send more of your cars into mesia. My scrap metal business will boom when all these cars stopped working in 3 years time
Supply more than demand = price drop.
Be careful what you wish.
Sangat Happy tgk lebih banyak barang dari negara kawan masuk Malaysia. Sangat Happy juga lihat barang kawan Yadudi seperti Amerika, India, Japan dan Korea selatan semakin terencat jualan mereka. Padu. Malaysia boleh. Palestine boleh.
Jetour’s own Kunlun architecture – liked that Kunlun glass by Huawei must be very hard to get scratched or break.
Only CKD Honda CRV can give China SUV a fight these days. In 5 years time reliable China car brands such as Chery would have proven over time they r no lesser built than Honda CRV but at least 15% cheaper and much better and safer equipped, and that will spell the end of affordable Honda SUVs. Toyota Fortuner already quit this segment now priced above rm200k.
What talking you? In 5 months time cherries will end up in heaps of scrap metal because all brakes malfunctioned. Good for my besi buruk business
People are blinded by the design, wide centre console and screens. No one would expect problem like brakes. This is no coincident. The much publicized Xiaomi car also have brake issue resulted many canceling their orders.
Where’s pro-palestine? Why no come back us up?
Hi brother, I dengar nama saya dipanggil. Aiyo it Ioma tambi anne x habis habis sebar berita palsu Zionis hari hari. Mai saya kasi tambi anne ini tapak tangan sebiji saya ni hantar dia balik ke India jilat kaki Dirti Modi itu
China car not ev don’t bother
Dah lah anne @ Roti Canai. Jual roti canai kau diam diam la. Tu je kau pandai buat selain mabuk. Kami suka sangat keta EV dari China ni. So happy. Lebih akan masuk dan hapuskan jenama yang pro Yahudi seperti BMW, MERCEDES, TOYOLTA, HONDA dll. Brand India lagi xpayah nak borak sebab satu dunia x beli langsung.
The more, the merrier!
lots of cina kereta coming to Malaysia omg going to overtake popular car I guess
15.6′ Touchscreen… nah i’ll wait for the 50′