Chinese Car Brands Taking Over Former Tesla Showroom
Landmark building on Hogarth Roundabout to be bridgehead into UK market
The former Tesla showroom is currently being fitted out for its new tenant. Picture: ChiswickW4.com
December 22, 2024
A Chinese motor manufacturer is aiming to expand its presence in the UK market by using a Chiswick landmark as a base for its sales effort. The company which already has offices in Chiswick Business Park, is to have a new dealership in the Tesla showroom by Hogarth Roundabout for its Omoda and Jaecoo brands.
The sales push locally is to be headed up by Steve Young, who has been appointed by Çetaş Otomotiv which manages the manufacturer’s sales in the Turkish market.
The intention is to grow the single dealership in Chiswick, which will be known as Auto West London, into a small chain with a focus initially on south-east England. Although Omoda Jaecoo UK, is based in Building 7 at the Chiswick office development, Auto West London will operate independently as one of the company’s franchised dealers across the UK.
The landmark building by the Great West Road has been unoccupied for some time causing concern to nearby residents. Work is ongoing to recommission the building and it will be rebranded in the New Year with trading expected to start in the Spring.
Mr Young said, “The challenges include the location of our first site – Chiswick, West London, normally a ‘no go’ area for private dealer investors due to the high operating costs in large metro areas. The site is sales only, requiring a separate aftersales facility.
“As a new dealer brand with a new OEM, we have no established customer base or parc to leverage which will put a heavy emphasis on digital marketing to create awareness.”
The Omoda and Jaecoo brands are owned by Chery Automobile Co. Ltd., which Is based in Wuhu in Anhui Province and is China’s fifth largest motor manufacturer and the largest exporter. Both brands are for export sale only and not available in China.
The Omoda is a sports utility vehicle which is available in both electric and petrol versions with the on the road price for the former being £25,200 and the EV costing £33,000. According to Chery, the letter "O" from Omoda is derived from the chemical symbol for oxygen while "Moda" means "modern". It was initially exported into Russia and Kazakhstan.
The Jaecoo brand is aiming at the higher end of the market and its first international sales were made in Russia last year.
Omoda Jaecoo UK is based in Chiswick Business Park. Picture: ChiswickW4.com
The UK currently has zero tariffs on Chinese automobiles due to its independent trade policies after leaving the European Union. The absence of tariffs on Chinese cars is a deliberate choice to encourage trade and potentially attract investment from Chinese automakers into the UK, such as setting up manufacturing plants or distribution networks. Most other developed economies place some level of tariffs on Chinese made vehicles.
The government hopes that this will strengthen economic ties with China and accelerate the transition from internal combustion engine (ICE) to electric vehicles (EV) with a view to phasing out sales of new ICE vehicles by 2035. Chinese EVs tend to be more affordable that those made in other countries.
Chinese brands already have a 4.8% share in the UK mainly through MG Motor sales which is now owned by SAIC Motor. There were 5,303 MG Motor vehicles sold in the UK this October.
Value Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least two articles a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |