More than a dozen scandals involving poor assembly quality and parts of Chery Tiggo 4 Pro and Omoda C5 vehicles have sharply reduced the brand’s sales in the European Union, the UK, and across Asia.
The only market where these problematic cars are seeing sales growth is Russia. After the start of the war with Ukraine, the Russian automotive market came under control not only of illegal dealers but also of the Chinese automotive industry. By offering lower prices, Chinese companies are pushing Russian brands out of their own market.
Massive issues such as falling axles and wheels on Chery Tiggo 4 Pro models in St. Petersburg and Omoda C5 in Malaysia have significantly decreased demand for these cars in Asia and Europe.
In Russia, however, these dangerously flawed vehicles are considered a suitable replacement for European and American brands, and certainly better than the Russian “people’s car.” The mentality that anything imported is better than domestic products has led to a high demand for Chinese goods like the Omoda C5 or Chery Tiggo 4 Pro.
The recent scandals involving the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro and Omoda C5 models
One notable incident: a Chery Tiggo 4 Pro disintegrated while in motion, losing an axle and scraping its undercarriage along the asphalt. This might trigger a recall of the entire model line from this leading budget segment car manufacturer in Russia.
Chery representatives are seriously considering recalling tens of thousands of Chery Tiggo 4 Pro models from the Russian, Kazakh, and Uzbek markets. If this happens, it will acknowledge the repeatedly reported issues with the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro’s suspension, especially with the axle mounts.
It is worth recalling the incredible story of the Chery Tigo 4 Pro accident on Lesnoy Avenue, 7 in St. Petersburg.
Chery Tiggo 4 Pro, unlucky coincidence or truly fragile construction?
The Chery Tiggo 4 Pro lost its rear axle. A woman driving on Yandex-Drive tried to overtake a BMW moving at about 90 km/h. While overtaking on slippery tracks, the car skidded, and the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro hit an oncoming Mercedes-Benz with its rear. As a result, the crossover’s rear axle detached and rolled across the road into a nearby courtyard.
Suspension defects are a known issue with Chery and Omoda brands.
The Chinese automaker Chery had to recall 600 Omoda 5 crossovers from the Malaysian market due to a discovered defect in the rear suspension. In Russia, the same crossover is sold under the name Omoda C5 2024.
The Russian office of the Omoda brand commented on the situation with the collapsing suspension subframe in Malaysian Omoda C5 crossovers.
“We are aware of the situation with our colleagues in Malaysia. This is an isolated case registered in a foreign market. Currently, over 40,000 vehicles have been sold in the Russian market with no similar incidents,” Omoda representatives said.
The incident occurred in late April. According to photos circulating on social media, one of the Omoda 5 vehicles had its rear suspension’s trailing arm break off while in motion, leaving the owner stranded in the middle of the road.
After the affected owner contacted Chery, the company conducted an investigation and identified the cause. It turned out that at the supplier’s plant, after replacing a worn tip on the automated welding machine, it was not recalibrated. As a result, the arms might not have been welded with sufficient quality.
Chery estimates that the problem may affect around 60 Omoda 5 vehicles produced in Malaysia between August 14 and 17, 2023. Nevertheless, as a precaution, all 600 crossovers sold in the country during this period are subject to recall. The company has already informed car owners about the recall campaign.
