China to sell petrol cars in UK as concern grows over price of EVs

A CHINESE carmaker will launch both petrol and electric models when it starts selling in the UK next year amid concern over the price of electric cars and the availability of charging for them.

China’s state-owned Chery, the country’s ninth-biggest carmaker, will start selling cars in February under its Omoda brand, its UK chief Victor Zhang told The Daily Telegraph.

Omoda bucks the trend of Chinese brands such as BYD, Funky Cat and others planning electric-only UK launches in anticipation of the Government’s ban on sales of petrol and diesel-only cars from 2030.

Mr Zhang said he expects the company’s sales to be about 70pc petrol, 20pc electric and 10pc hybrid in the UK. The company’s C5 crossover SUV model is expected to start at below £25,000.

“The Government is promoting the EV and you have a 2030 policy; we fully understand,” he said. “People maybe still prefer to have petrol cars instead of

EVs. EVs are, price wise, maybe a little bit higher and the infrastructure is not fully mature.”

The company also plans a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model, which will have a petrol engine and a battery system which can be charged from a socket, allowing users to charge cheaply at home for commutes and fill up on petrol

Proportion of petrol car sales in UK expected by Chery, compared with 20pc electric and 10pc hybrid

for long drives. For mass-market buyers the format has not taken off as much as pure electric cars.

Some models have been withdrawn, with Mitsubishi ending sales of its Outlander PHEV in 2021, although there is more choice at the premium end of the market. While PHEVs offer an attractive stepping stone technology to EVs, they are also more complex to service, having both petrol and electric-only power plants. Mr Zhang said previous versions have had low range and his firm can offer a better version.

Electric carmakers are slowly responding to the price war started earlier this year by Elon Musk’s Tesla.

Tesla has cut the price of its cars in Britain twice this year to boost demand. The price of a basic Model Y has been reduced to £40,590, while the lowestspec Model 3 is now £38,790. Italian carmaker Fiat has lopped £3,000 off the price of its electric 500e model, taking its starting price down to £25,195.

The Government’s electric vehicle grant offered £1,500 towards cheaper electric cars, but closed last June.

Damien Dally, the managing director of Fiat UK, said: “The Government’s plug-in car grant supported the sale of nearly half a million electric cars.

“However, more needs to be done to incentivise individuals to be able to afford to make the switch.”