Chery group lines up at least seven EVs for New Zealand by 2027

The Chery group will have at least seven electric models on sale or confirmed for New Zealand by the end of next year, spread across five badges. Eighteen months ago it had one.

Six of them were on Chery’s stand at Everything Electric in Sydney last week, alongside the Stockman plug-in hybrid ute. The seventh, the Chery Q hatch, was confirmed for New Zealand in May. More may follow; Chery holds its annual User Summit in Wuhu next month and NZ Autocar will be there.

The Jaecoo J5 EV is the one you can buy now. It is priced from $42,990 with a 59kWh battery, 155kW/288Nm and a 402km WLTP range.

The Omoda E5 that has been sold here since 2024 becomes the Chery E5, with a facelift to go with the badge change. It gains a new nose, a larger touchscreen, a 61kWh battery, 155kW/288Nm and 430km WLTP. Australia gets it in the fourth quarter. New Zealand timing is yet to be confirmed.

The Chery Q revives the QQ name on a 4195mm rear-drive hatch with a 2700mm wheelbase, a 42kWh battery and a 90kW motor. Chery quotes about 400km on the NEDC cycle, which should mean a little over 300km WLTP. It is confirmed for 2027 and will almost certainly be the cheapest of the seven.

Lepas is Chery’s new export brand, and its first model is the L6, a mid-size SUV on the group’s new LEX platform. It carries a 65kWh LFP battery and a 160kW/275Nm front motor, with 440km WLTP and a 30 to 80 per cent DC charge in about 22 minutes. Australia gets it from October at under A$50,000. The brand is confirmed for New Zealand, with timing and pricing still to come.

The L4 uses the same battery and motor on the same wheelbase in a body 154mm shorter, and claims 450km. Australia has it by January. New Zealand follows.

The iCaur V25 is the boxy off-roader Chery showed in China with a range-extender drivetrain, pairing a 33.7kWh battery with a 1.5-litre turbo generator for 145 to 150km of electric running. Chery has confirmed iCaur for New Zealand in the second half of 2027, and NZ Autocar understands the full-electric version will arrive first. Chery has not yet released specifications for it.

The Omoda 4 has changed little from the 2025 concept. It runs a 65kWh LFP battery, 160kW/275Nm, roughly 470km WLTP, 119kW DC charging and a 402-litre boot. Australia gets it in the first half of 2027. Omoda Jaecoo New Zealand has not announced it, but it sat on the stand beside cars the local distributor already sells.

Petrol and plug-in hybrid versions of the L6, L4 and Omoda 4 follow the electric models in each case. The Stockman ute arrives in Australia at the end of this year and here in early 2027.

If the 2027 timetable holds, the Chery group will have as many electric models on sale in New Zealand as any rival, and more than most. BYD has five or six depending on the Atto 2, or eight with Denza counted in. Kia has five. MG has four ahead of its IM sub-brand. Tesla has three.

Chery Australia and New Zealand chief operating officer Lucas Harris has said the brand will add no new nameplates locally until the Stockman arrives, which puts most of these into 2027. Beyond the J5, no pricing has been announced.