Australia nearing “pressure point” for Chinese car brands: Chery

Chery says Chinese car brands are nearing a “pressure point” in Australia, as it redoubles its efforts to become a top five sales player inside the next three years.

With close to 80 new car brands either now in Australia or fast approaching – including a cascade of Chinese EV brands – competition for new car sales is headier than ever.

In less than three years in the local market, Chery has become a formidable force, with models like its Tiggo 4 Pro SUV now among the country’s best sellers (finishing seventh in the October 2025 VFACTS figures).

The result has pushed Chery to 13th in outright sales for the year, up from 23rd in 2024. The Chinese marque's growth is only set to continue with the advent of as-yet unnamed dual-cab ute at the end of 2026, not to mention a slew of new models headlined by the Chery Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid. 

With the likes of BYD and GWM even higher on the sales flagpole – and about a dozen new Chinese marques splashing onto the scene – Chery Australia chief operating officer Lucas Harris believes Australia could be nearing capacity for new arrivals. And it all boils down to retail space.

“From a consumer’s point of view, I don’t think it matters too much if more brands come to Australia,” said Harris.

“Choice is great, it gives customers access to more, and more competitively. Where all the pressure is going to be is the retail space. If every new brand comes to Australia and wants an 800 square-metre showroom – where are they? There’s not enough.

“I think the pressure point is actually at the retail end, and where the retailer puts all those brands.

“You’re already seeing now the legacy brands having to either give up space inside their showrooms, or give up completely. I think we will see a little bit of rationalisation there.

“There will come a time where there’s just no retail space. So unless every brand is willing to accept 100 square metres – probably not – then it’s going to become really hard and really competitive in that space.”

Chery now offers a dealer network of 85 sites in Australia and wants to have 100 dealerships by the end of 2026. It will also double its internal staff head count from 85 people to 160 people in the next 12 months.

It comes as the brand sets its sights on being a permanent top five player in the Australian market.

“Any brand that says to you they don’t want to be in the top five is probably telling you porkies… The reality is that not every brand is going to be in the top five,” Harris said.

“If we can have a brand in the top three or four, and then another brand inside the top 10 [Omada Jaecoo], then I think that’s quite good… a successful model.

“We have to earn [our place]. If something goes wrong, we have to be there and we have to stand behind it. Not just from an aftersales perspective but it could be if someone has an accident and is waiting months for parts.”

Asked whether Chery had exceeded initial expectations in Australia, Harris said: “No I don’t think so. The result is okay but there’s so many things I think we could do better. Even things like brand awareness in this country, I think it has taken far too long to get consistent brand messaging in Australia – so that people can understand who we are and what we’re about.

“Part of being part of a global company is that sometimes there will be global decisions and whether we understand or agree with those decisions will be irrelevant. So, if a decision to bring more brands to Australia is made, then our job is to find the most effective and useful way to execute on that mission.”