Price wars! Chinese brands duke it out for title of Australia’s most cost-effective SUV

As a flock of latest Chinese brands gear as much as stake their claim Down Under, a few the country’s more established brands locally are fighting for the title of Australia’s most cost-effective SUV.

Chery returned to Australia in 2023, and in October 2024 introduced the Tiggo 4 Pro – a small SUV wearing a similarly small price tag of $23,990 drive-away in entry-level Urban guise.

This allowed the Tiggo 4 Pro to undercut key segment players just like the Kia Stonic, Mitsubishi ASX, MG ZS, and GWM Haval Jolion and take the crown of Australia’s most cost-effective SUV.

One month later, GWM Australia announced its GWM Plate Clearance campaign that saw the entry price of the Jolion small SUV drop by $3000 to $23,990 drive-away – matching the Tiggo 4 Pro, but only until December 31, 2024 initially.

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The offer – which incorporates discounts of as much as $6000 across GWM’s range – has now been prolonged until at the least January 31, 2025, meaning two cars will proceed to share the excellence of Australia’s most cost-effective SUV in the meanwhile.

The excellence here is that the GWM price is a component of a campaign to clear 2024-plate vehicles, while the Chery’s price appears to be everlasting.

A GWM Australia spokesperson told CarExpert the resulting uptick in sales from the campaign, plus quite a few eligible models left over, led to its extension.

“The GWM Plate Clearance retail campaign is concentrated on selling through our remaining 2024-plated stock. It has worked extremely well up to now and resonated with our customers as our Q4 2024 sales prove,” the spokesperson said.

“To proceed that momentum and to clear any remaining 2024 models, we made the choice to increase the GWM Plate Clearance into Q1. This offer will proceed until we clear 2024 stock.”

The Haval Jolion was the best-selling vehicle within the small SUV segment in December, with sales up 56.1 per cent on December 2023 with 1691 sold.

GWM sold 14,238 Haval Jolions in 2024, up 27 per cent on the previous 12 months. Of those, 9910 were petrol-powered and 4328 were hybrids, up 20 per cent and 43 per cent respectively.

The Tiggo 4 Pro was Chery’s best-selling model in December, outselling even the Omoda 5 by greater than 200 units in December with a complete of 819 units.

Chery sales were up by 114 per cent in 2024 in comparison with 2023, with 12,603 reaching customers. Of those, 1918 were Tiggo 4 Pros.

Speaking with CarExpert in May 2024, Chery Australia chief operating officer Lucas Harris described the sub-$30,000 category as a “massive opportunity”, and the Tiggo 4 Pro’s quick ramp up in sales appears to have backed up that sentiment.

The Tiggo 4 Pro can also be set to get a hybrid version by mid-2025, which can give Chery a direct rival to the Haval Jolion Hybrid.

While GWM Australia’s website says the present offer will end on January 31, 2025, it’s currently unclear whether it might be prolonged. In contrast, Chery hasn’t modified the worth of the bottom Tiggo 4 Pro Urban because it launched.

It’s also unclear whether MG shall be back in contention for the title of Australia’s most cost-effective SUV with its new-generation ZS.

It launched late last 12 months with hybrid power and a $33,990 drive-away base price, but will get cheaper petrol-powered versions in the course of the first quarter of this 12 months.

Nonetheless, the outgoing ZST range is currently being offered from $25,990 drive-away, not quite as low cost as its Chinese rivals.

The old price-leader ZS Excite was previously priced from $23,990 drive-away, however the new-generation model packs more safety equipment and subsequently may carry the next price.

Beyond the Chinese brands, there’s the stalwart Mitsubishi ASX (priced from $24,490 before on-road costs) and Kia Stonic ($25,460 before on-roads or $27,740 drive-away).

The quirky Suzuki Ignis is assessed as an SUV as well, and is currently priced from $24,490 drive-away.