Chery Omoda 5 preview in Malaysia might mean PH is next

After debuting in China, the Chery Omoda 5 makes ASEAN appearance

Earlier this July, Chery released what is perhaps one of its most stylish crossovers yet, the Omoda 5. Aimed at the young and hip crowd, the crossover evolved from the Chery 4.0 product line and is aimed directly at the likes of the Honda HR-V, Geely Coolray, and the MG ZS T.

Fast forward to October, and the Omoda 5 has been previewed for the ASEAN market after it arrived in Malaysia. According to our friends over at Paultan.org, Chery is now back in Malaysia and recently held a preview event showcasing the possible cars the Chinese automaker will launch in the country soon. One of those vehicles is the Omoda 5.

Just like the model that was launched in China last July, the Omoda 5 measures 4400mm long, 1830mm wide, and 1585mm tall. This makes the Omoda 5 a B-segment crossover, thus making it a close competitor of the models mentioned above.

Official specifications for the Malaysian market are not yet available. However, it is available with two turbocharged powertrains over at the People's Republic. First is a 1.6-liter T-GDI paired with a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission with AWD. It makes 194 PS with 290 Nm of torque and is claimed to go from 0 – 100 km/h in just 7.8 seconds. The other engine is a 1.5-liter TCI that is coupled to 9-speed CVT and is only available as a FWD model. It's also turbocharged and produces 154 PS with 230 Nm of torque.

Surprisingly, the EV version of the Omoda 5 was not shown in Malaysia. However, since the lineup is only a preview, perhaps Chery is still gauging whether they can bring the electric version as well as the electrified variants of the Omoda 5.

With Chery's new stylish crossover recently being previewed in one of our closest neighbors, could the Omoda 5 eventually make its way to the Philippine market? For now, it seems Chery Auto Philippines is content with the Tiggo lineup of crossover that consists of the Tiggo 2 Pro, Tiggo 5X, Tiggo 7 Pro, and the flagship Tiggo 8 Pro.

However, a Chery executive shared with us that the company plans to hold a preview of the Omoda 5 sometime in November in the Philippines. With that, it looks like Malaysia is just one of the ASEAN markets Chery is interested in bringing its newest crossover.

Perhaps the Omoda 5 could make its way to the Philippine market sometime next year. Fingers crossed we won't have to wait too long.