Chery Indonesia has announced that the electric SUV is now open for booking. This is essentially the same car that we showed you from Auto Shanghai 2023 in April, where the Omoda 5 EV made its debut, down to the blue/pale wood interior that I like. There’s one vital difference though – while the Shanghai showcar was a left-hand drive example, the car at GIIAS is right-hand drive, which means that LHD-to-RHD conversion work is complete ahead of sales in Indonesia and Malaysia. Elsewhere, only the front badging is different. It now reads Chery instead of Omoda because the Omoda sub-brand exists in China whereas main brand Chery is just starting to re-establish itself in ASEAN. The rear end has also been filled with with badges, production car-style – there’s Chery bridging the tail lamps, Omoda 5 and the all-important EV badge.
The Omoda 5 EV has a 61 kWh battery in the
floorpan powering a 221 hp motor. The 0-100 km/h sprint is done in 7.8
seconds, and Chery claims power efficiency of 15 kWh per 100 km. As for DC fast
charging, Chery quotes 35 minutes to get from 0-80% SOC. Claimed range is 450
km per full charge, but note that Chinese carmakers usually use the domestic
CLTC, which typically gives bigger numbers than NEDC, never mind the more
real-world WLTP.
Compared to the ICE Omoda 5, the EV has a
very different face. Gone is the elaborate patterned grille that’s a
love-or-hate affair, and in comes a cleaner, more conventional nose that’s
blocked off, as cooling is not required. No logo, as Chery is spelled out on
the nose above the charging flap. There are also aero wheels rendered in
two-tone.
Inside, both the GIIAS and Shanghai show
cars have a very interesting colour scheme with blue as the main hue,
contrasted by yellow stitching and pale wood trim – very refreshing. The
steering boss has an Omoda logo, and the modern dashboard’s co-joined screens
and angled phone slots remain. The ICE car’s gear lever has been deleted.
