Chery’s 315kW Tiggo 9 flagship confirmed – priced from $60,000 to rival Mitsubishi Outlander and BYD Sealion 6
1 week ago
Lukas Foyle
Contributor
Latest plug-in hybrid SUV from Chery will be its largest yet, with seven seats and three electric motors
Chery has confirmed plans to further expand its ‘Tiggo’ SUV range, locking down a new seven-seater plug-in model set to release in less than one month.
Known as the Tiggo 9, Chery’s new model will be its largest and most expensive yet… Before exploring offerings from sub-brands Omoda and Jaecoo, that is.
Priced from $59,990, the Tiggo 9 predominantly rivals the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, which starts from $57,290, and climbs to $69,290 in seven-seat guise. It will also contend with the five-seat BYD Sealion 6, priced from $42,990. Prices shown are before on-road costs.
Key standard equipment for the Chery Tiggo 9 includes:
- 360-degree surround view camera
- Leather interior
- 6-way power-adjust front seats with heating, ventilation and massage
- Heated and ventilated rear outboard seats
- Heated steering wheel
- 10.25-inch driver instrument cluster
- 15.6-inch infotainment touchscreen
- 14-speaker Sony sound system
- Heads-up display
- 50W wireless phone charger
- Electronic panoramic sunroof
- Power tailgate
- LED exterior brightwork
- 20-inch alloy wheels
The Tiggo 9 will also need to compete with the BYD Sealion 8, an upcoming seven-seat plug-in hybrid measuring an impressive 5040mm in length. That model, along with a smaller, cut price Sealion 5, is slated to arrive in Australia early next year.
In contrast, the Tiggo 9 measures 4820mm in length (110mm longer than a Mitsubishi Outlander), 1930mm wide, and 1699mm tall, with a 2820mm wheelbase. (Overseas exterior dimensions shown — local dimensions are not yet available).
Keen eyed readers would note the extreme similarity in size between the Chery Tiggo 9 and the Jaecoo J8, and indeed, the models look to be the same car under the skin.
But where the J8 makes use of a more traditional 183kW/385Nm four-cylinder turbocharged engine and eight-speed automatic drivetrain, the Tiggo 9 features three electric motors – two at the front and one at the rear – mated to a 1.5-litre turbo petrol via a ‘dedicated hybrid transmission’.
The result is a staggering claimed combined output of 315kW / 580Nm, and, thanks to its 34kWh Lithium-ion battery, the Tiggo 9 also claims a combined range of 1250km and an EV-only range of 170km. Both figures are measured to generous NEDC testing standards.
The release of the Tiggo 9 will mark the second appearance of Chery’s unique three-motor PHEV system, which first debuted on the $61,990 (before on-roads) Omoda 9.
That model boasts a five-star ANCAP safety rating, where the Tiggo 9 is currently unrated. We anticipate Chery to already be working behind the scenes to begin independent safety testing on its new Tiggo 9 model, in order to share a five-star rating with smaller Tiggo 4, 7 and 8 relatives.
Chery has confirmed that the Tiggo 9 has a comprehensive suite of driver safety features, including autonomous emergency braking and emergency lane keeping, as well as ten airbags.
Like all Chery models, the Tiggo 9 will be backed by a seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty, with a separate eight-year unlimited kilometre warranty applying to its high voltage PHEV battery.
GWM’s Wey luxury brand set for Australia to fight Zeekr, Denza, IM and more
1 week ago
Luxury van and large SUV likely the first Wey models for Australia, both featuring exclusively plug-in hybrid power
GWM has confirmed that it will bring Wey, its luxury sub-brand, to Australia with a range of plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models.
The decision of whether to bring Wey to Australia has been a story of ‘off again, on again’ for Chinese conglomerate GWM, but local executives say they are ready to bet their chips on rising future demand for PHEVs under Australia’s new vehicle emissions laws.
Australian media, including Chasing Cars, has been invited to drive the GWM Gaoshan luxury minivan at a private facility in Victoria this week, with test vehicles rebadged ‘GWM Wey G9’ – the expected Australian name for the MPV.
G9 van, Blue Mountain SUV the first two Wey models for Australia
But the G9 van would be supplemented in GWM’s Australian dealerships by the Wey Blue Mountain large luxury SUV, Chasing Cars understands, while at least one other Wey SUV model is also under examination.
Pronounced like “way”, the premium GWM marque is named for the current chairman of Great Wall Motors, Chinese billionaire Jack Wey.
“We are still working through final scenarios, but there is a good chance you are going to see [Wey in Australia] next year,” GWM Australia head of marketing and communications Steve Maciver told Chasing Cars.
An earlier proposal to bring Wey’s SUV models to Australia under GWM’s more affordable Haval sub-brand has been abandoned.
Maciver confirmed that — at least at first — Wey would not offer pure combustion or pure electric vehicles locally, but that PHEVs would be the focus.
“[Wey] will be plug-in. We are pretty confident, with the NVES scenario we are facing, that we are going to see an increased [market] share of PHEVs. It is going to have to happen, and we are betting pretty big on it,” he said.
The most likely Wey models for the brand’s mooted 2026 Australian release both offer PHEV powertrains.
Plug-in hybrids with big power and 100km+ electric range
The G9 (or Gaoshan) minivan is produced only with a 1.5-litre turbo petrol PHEV powertrain producing 358kW/762Nm combined, with approximately 140km electric range.
Meanwhile, the Blue Mountain (Lanshan) large SUV uses a similar 1.5T PHEV system, though it is uprated to 380kW/933Nm combined. Electric range is similar to the G9 at about 140km with GWM claiming combined driving range is over 1000km.
Both the Blue Mountain SUV and the G9 van use an existing GWM hybrid all-wheel drive system, but Maciver hinted that Australia could receive Wey models with GWM’s newer-generation, high-performance Hi4-Z PHEV/AWD combination.
“If you think about perhaps a Wey Blue Mountain that might [be used for] occasional soft-roading, Hi4-Z will be pretty capable of that. It will also give you increased performance and increased (electric) range on-road, so it could be a good option for us,” he said.
Equipped with Hi4-Z instead of their existing PHEV systems, the G9 and Blue Mountain could produce up to 635kW/1195Nm combined with up to 200km electric-only range from a 59kWh battery.
Wey to avoid sky-high pricing of some luxury rival brands
GWM Australia is adamant that pricing for Wey models will remain in reasonable territory despite their luxury status.
It was made especially clear that the G9 luxury van will not be priced in the same territory as the Zeekr 009 (from $135,900 plus on-road costs) or Lexus LM (from $163,520 + ORCs).
“I would be confident in saying that if we were to bring [the G9 van] in, we would not be close to six figures,” Maciver told Chasing Cars.
“Comparing what other brands may be doing in the [minivan] space at six figures, we don’t believe that is where the vehicle should be priced for us. We don’t know exactly what that [price] looks like, but we are pretty confident we are not going to be at six figures.”
