“A true crossover” – Chery’s design boss on the Omoda 5

The crossover segment was hardly wanting for new entrants, no less an electric one. But to paraphrase the wisdom of Partridge: “People like them – let’s make more of them.”

Omoda, via Chinese giant Chery, is the latest to expand in Europe with early success in key markets such as Spain, South Africa, Mexico and across eastern Europe. Omoda was formally established in 2022 with the C5 crossover the first model hitting roads, initially in Russia and Kazakhstan, based on the Chery 5.

An extravagant UK launch came in August last year, with top brass optimistic that buyers would bite at the competitive pricing on offer: the ICE-powered Omoda 5 is listed at just over £25,000 (US$31k) in base trim while the ‘Noble’ premium trim is only about £1,700 extra. The electric E5 starts at £33,000, rising to £34,555 in top trim. About £4,500 less in both instances than a BYD Atto 3, a comparable model in terms of range, size and heritage.

Design is led by Steve Eum, general manager of design for Chery at large, who brings significant experience to the table from past roles with Ford, GM and Hyundai across Europe, Australia, Korea, the US and China. Now with Omoda, he has been working primarily with the main studio in Shanghai but also with a satellite studio in Frankfurt where a team of around 30 designers (plus more in other functions) are based.

As is the nature of working with a Chinese manufacturer, the Omoda roll-out has been exceptionally quick since the project came across Eum’s desk a few years ago. “I keep seeing the [Omoda] 5 everywhere. It’s expanding like wildfire,” he told Car Design News late last year, “quicker than you can keep up.” From our visit to Shanghai in October, speed is indeed very much the modus operandi.

So, should we think of the Omoda 5 (and subsequent models) as a collaboration between Europea and China? “That’s the ultimate goal,” says Eum, although with the pace at which the company is moving, he concedes it is difficult to say for sure how future projects will go.

“We are all so busy with multiple programmes, but design is flexible in the manner where if someone likes it, [the company] is willing to sell it. We’re fortunate that the 5 has been quite successful and visually caught the eyes of the international community, which is why it’s already in numerous parts of the world. In Spain I hear we’re outselling BYD, even Honda. I had a layover in Istanbul on the way here – guess what the first two cars outside the airport were…”

At Omoda’s UK launch in London, bosses emphasised the idea of standing out from the crowd, but the reality is that the underlying platform and technology comes from Chery and is shared with other brands. As such, the Omodas on show did not necessarily scream ‘unique’.

The light signature – a thin light bar wrapping around the front mask, flanked by fog lights at either corner with contrasting, geometric surrounds – is rather ubiquitous at this stage. Paired with a very typical crossover silhouette and generic EV powertrain, there is a feeling of homogeneity.

To be clear, this is symptomatic of a wider issue that can be attributed to numerous other brands. Given the market Omoda is targeting – those putting price first – this might be a non-issue. Eum is confident enough in Omoda’s visual identity. “It’s not tame at all. It’s got a lot of surface action, as I’d call it. The front’s quite unique as well, so we’ll see where we go with that. From a design side, we’re quite satisfied.”

Inside, the value proposition is more evident. This is a nicely laid out, well-trimmed cabin that seems to balance the thirst for tech with minimalism elsewhere. A wide touchscreen (in fact two 12.25” screens) spans from the far end of the centre console before fading toward the driver’s A-pillar. The instrument panel appears to float in certain lights, with a separate touch bar underneath for controls like the hazard lights, climate control etc. Luxurious would be a stretch, but the interior does feel premium.

Long term, Eum notes that the long-term plan is to make Omoda stand out from the crowd but also its sister brands in Chery and Jaecoo. The Lynk&Co/Zeekr dynamic might be another comparable situation, with both brands looking to establish more separate looks.

“As any automotive company grows, it wants to make its brands stronger and stronger. As soon as we have Omoda and Jaecoo as independent brands, they will both have their own identities and separate DNA,” he explains. “That’s our ultimate goal. We don’t necessarily want to be tied to the family look. Back in the 90s pretty much all the car companies that tried a “global car” found it never worked. So it’s always good to have a very strong independence in terms of visual identity.”

The Omoda 5 is a starting point, and it is understandable that the brand’s first car would lean on the resources afforded to it by the parent company Chery. Eum notes that the plan is to continually evolve the design language behind Omoda – “there’s always room for improvement” – and very much refutes the notion that crossovers are played out.

“The future is definitely crossovers. We will of course still have SUVs, sedans and whatever else, but we as an industry as still in that grey area for crossovers: people are still trying to see where we can go, so it’s almost a little play area for us as design.”

Eum describes the Omoda 5 as “a true crossover” in the sense that it is “not really an SUV, nor a sedan. It’s cool. We’ll continue to evolve that from a design standpoint because that’s where the opportunity is – not merging segments, but actually creating a new segment.”

Omoda apparently combines the chemical symbol for oxygen ‘O’ with ‘Moda’ meaning ‘modern’ or ‘fashion’. Now, we are not enormously proud of this, but we can’t help feel Omoda sounds less like a car brand and more like a pill for stomach issues. Perhaps this could play into the marketing strategy: “To make long drives easier, take an Omoda.”