Tata's Jaguar Land Rover now has to take on its Chinese partner at home

After an attempted brand makeover came in for criticism, Jaguar Land Rover now faces a new threat: its Chinese partner wants to eat its lunch in the UK.

Chery Automobile Co. is preparing to bring its upmarket Jaecoo brand to JLR’s home market, where the Chinese carmaker hopes to take on the Range Rover line with cheaper sport utility vehicles.

The Jaecoo 7, which will hit UK roads early next year and starts from £29,435 ($36,910) for the gasoline version, is more affordable and higher quality than some Range Rover models including the £44,000 Evoque, according to Chery’s UK head Victor Zhang.

“If you look at the Evoque — this kind of size — I’d say we’re much better in terms of the dimensions, the power, the interior, technology, everything," Zhang said in an interview in London.

Tata Motors Ltd-owned JLR, which has a joint venture with Chery in China, isn’t the only manufacturer to face competition from a partner from the Asian country. Volkswagen AG is up against Xpeng Inc., which introduced its EVs in VW’s home market of Germany earlier this year. Meanwhile, Stellantis NV’s brands including Fiat and Citroën compete with Leapmotor in countries such as Italy and France.

Chery’s UK push comes after JLR was forced to defend its teaser ad for the new Jaguar image as the manufacturer prepares to relaunch the brand as an all-electric offering for younger customers.

Not Worried

Chery isn’t diverting sales to the UK in response to European Union tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, Zhang said. “The UK is very important but all the other European countries are at the same pace," he said. “We are not worried about these tariffs."

Chery manufactures mainly in China but has invested in production capacity in Spain with a local partner.

The Jaecoo 7 is available as either a plug-in hybrid or gasoline vehicle but not as a fully electric version. The pricier plug-in hybrid starts at just over £35,000.

Chery introduced its even more affordable Omoda brand in the UK in August, offering consumers both an electric SUV and a version running on gasoline. Omoda registered around 1,000 unit sales in the first month, Zhang said.

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