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January 27, 2025

Chery, Lynk & Co Looks Forward To Strong 2025 With New Products And A New Man In Charge


Franz Decloedt is a man on a mission. The newest member of the United Asia Automotive Group, Inc. (UAAGI) management team, Decloedt is bent on solidifying the distributor’s business operations, particularly with regards to Chery Auto and Lynk & Co.

Replacing Froilan Dytianquin as the brand head for Chery and Lynk & Co, Decloedt himself is an automotive industry veteran having had stints in AC Motors (now ACMobility) as Group Marketing Director and Astara Philippines as Brand Head. He headed brands such as Volkswagen and GAC Motor.

Before joining the automotive industry, Decloedt was at several FMGC (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) companies such as Universal Robina, Unilever, and Coca-Cola.

Decloedt has his work cut out for him.

With no model introductions and delayed dealer openings, sales of Chery Auto slid 23 percent year-on-year in 2024.

Hoping to turn things around, Chery is targeting to grow its dealer outlets from 23 to 31 by the end of 2025. The plans would be to grow the network outside Metro Manila. The locations outlined by Chery Auto Philippines include: Albay, Batangas, Cabanatuan, Dagupan, Ilocos, Lipa, Santa Rosa, and Tarlac.

Fueling its growth this 2025 are at least three new vehicle offerings: a new electrified 5-seater SUV, a new 7-seater mid-sized EV, and a new 7-seater MPV all slated to arrive in the second or third quarter of 2025.

Based on the photos shown during its presentation, the first looks to be the new Tiggo 5x (also known as the Tiggo 4 Pro). As Chery’s volume seller in the Philippines, the new Tiggo 5x could get a huge bump in terms of equipment and performance to keep it competitive in the market.

The second looks to be the Chery Tiggo 8 (Tiggo 9 in China). Although the brand says it’s an EV, based on available global specs, the only matching powertrain is a plug-in hybrid. Made for a “powerful and unforgettable electric drive” says Chery Auto Philippines, this will pair a turbocharged 1.5-liter and an electric motor that boasts a combined 360 horsepower and 530 Nm of torque. Using a dedicated hybrid transmission (DHT), the brand says it should go up to 1,200 kilometers between fill ups.

The final model is a bit trickier. The model shown during Chery’s presentation is the refreshed Tiggo 8 (not to be mistaken as the Tiggo 8/9 mentioned above). However, they said it’s a 7-seater MPV with “unmatched comfort and specification, at an attainable price.” So far, there’s no current Chery model that matches this (the Exeed 08 is more like a Toyota Alphard fighter). With that in mind, UAAGI could re-position another vehicle, most probably the Tiggo 8 as an MPV, to differentiate it from the all-new Tiggo 8/9, or it could be an all-new model that’s never seen before.

When it comes to Lynk & Co, it’s confirmed that the brand will bring in their first full electric offering at the Manila International Auto Show in April. This is the Lynk & Co 02. Also known as the Lynk & Co Z20 elsewhere, the 02 is a small crossover built on the SEA or Sustainable Experience Architecture platform—something it shares with the Volvo EX30 and Zeekr X.

As Lynk & Co’s first European-centric EV, the 02 measures in at a compact 4,460 mm in length, 1,845 mm in width, and 1,573 mm in height. Its wheelbase, at 2,755 mm, is quite generous. The 02 packs a 66-kWh battery enough for 445 kilometers of range based on WLTP standards. A 268-horsepower motor drives the rear wheels helping it reach 100 km/h in just 5.5 seconds.

A second yet-unnamed Lynk & Co model will join the line-up towards the second half of 2025.

Like Chery, Lynk & Co will plan to expand its dealer footprint in 2025. However, because of its more premium positioning, its current seven will be doubled to 15 by the end of the year.

3 comments:

  1. Byd already has the momentum, chery and lynk will have a very hard time catching up

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BYD hype will be over just like what happened to GAC
      Too many unsold Seagull and Dolphin EVs already at BYD dealerships and they've overstocked too many Sealion 6 units which BYD dealerships are having hard time to sell now.
      Chery caters to mass market SUV buyers

      Delete
  2. Good luck to Chery
    Froy made the wrong decision to overdelay too much the release of Tiggo 7 Pro PHEV and abandoning the Tiggo 7 Pro gas variant and Tiggo 8 Pro in favor of overpushing and overmarketing 5x Pro mild hybrid and Tiggo 7 Pro mild hybrid

    ReplyDelete

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