Upcoming automotive brands, Omoda and Jaecoo, will soon enter the Philippine market. With their unique approach to marketing vehicles, the two brands will focus on user needs with high-quality, high-performance automotive products.

To give us a preview of the vehicles we can expect, the company invited Philippine journalists to the Beijing International Auto Exhibition (Beijing Auto Show).

Unveiled at the event were the Jaecoo J7 and J8 (both recently previewed at the Manila International Auto Show [MIAS] in ICE form). In Beijng, both now boasted of new Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV) variants.

The J7 PHEV is powered by a 1.5-liter TGDi gas engine with a dedicated hybrid transmission and an electric motor. The combined power output is 347-Ps with 525-Nm of torque. It has a pure EV range of 96-km, and in full hybrid mode (with a full battery and full gas tank) can achieve a range of 1,200-km. 

The J8, the larger, more luxurious vehicle, is also powered by a 1.5-liter TGDi gasoline engine, this time mated to a three-speed dedicated hybrid transmission. It has two electric motors, one for the front and another for the rear. It has a combined power output of 605-Ps and 915-Nm of torque. It has a pure EV range of 175-km and full hybrid range of 1,321-km. The J7 and J8 are equipped with both Type 2 AC and CCS2 DC charging ports.

The Omoda 5 EV was also on display.This vehicle has an electric motor that produces 204-PS and 400-Nm of torque. It’s optimized for ultra-low power consumption, allowing it to reach up to 450 km in range before needing recharging.

During out trip, we were granted a short test drive of the Omoda 5 EV, Jaecoo J7, J8, and the J6 EV on a short course.

The Omoda 5 EV, was put through an acceleration and braking test. As you would expect from an EV, even a front wheel drive like this, there was more than enough grunt off the line and braking distance from application was quite good.

We tried the J8 on a short course. Here, the AWD system was demonstrated on rollers which showed how it handled splitting torque to different wheels, wheel articulation and its resistance to chassis twisting. We even took it up and over an incline to demonstrate its torque. It did all this without much fuss.

We then took the J7 on a short slalom course to get a feel for its handling. It performed as well as expected. 

Of all the vehicles, the J6 EV SUV was the one we collectively looked forward to driving. It’s a bit wider than the new five-door Jimny and we took it around its own handling course at quite a good speed. To be honest, it was quite good and we really liked this one. We hope O&J will bring here to the Philippines.

From what we’ve seen, the vehicles are intriguing and certainly bring something different to the market. Omoda and Jaecoo’s PHEVs could really open up more options for the Filipino car buyer.