Chery’s spinoff luxury brand Jaecoo has confirmed another new model for Australia, the three-row J8 large SUV, which will take on the Toyota Kluger, Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento.
Jaecoo has confirmed the J8 will launch here in June 2025, just a month after the new J7 mid-sized SUV that will compete with the top-selling Toyota RAV4.
Government documents show the J8 has been approved for sale in Australia.
It will be the flagship product for the Jaecoo brand, an ostensibly more premium sister brand of Chery launched for export markets. The J8 is sold in China as the Chery Tiggo 9.
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The certification documents show a choice of five- or six-seat configurations, the latter with a pair of captain’s chairs in the second row.
Unlike it’s chief competitors, there’s no seven-seat configuration with a three-seat second-row bench, as can be found in some overseas markets.
There’s a single powertrain listed, a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine producing 183kW of power, mated with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
These government approval documents don’t list torque outputs, but in the United Arab Emirates the J8 produces 400Nm. However, the claimed power output in that market is 195kW.
Also missing from the local documents is the plug-in hybrid powertrain offered in some markets. This features a turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and two electric motors, for total system outputs of 450kW and 915Nm.
The local documents show the J8 has been certified for Australian roads in both front- and all-wheel drive configurations.
The J8 measures 4820mm long, 1930mm wide and 1710mm tall on a 2672mm wheelbase.
That makes it 5mm longer, 30mm wider and 10mm taller than a Sorento, and means it has a 143mm shorter wheelbase.
Other items of note from the approval documents are the standard fitment of 20-inch wheels, but there’s no specified towing capacity.
Inside, the J8 features dual 12.3-inch screens, while available features include adaptive suspension damping, heated, ventilated and power-adjustable front seats, a power tailgate, wireless phone charger, panoramic sunroof and an augmented reality head-up display.
There’s also a suite of active safety and driver assist features available, and depending on the variant and market the J8 can be had with features such as semi-autonomous parking assist and reverse autonomous emergency braking.
The large three-row SUV segment is unfamiliar territory for most Chinese brands in Australia, though MG this year will enter it with the new QS.
Chery has a seven-seat SUV in Australia already with the Tiggo 8 Pro Max, but it’s a bit smaller than the J8 and QS. It’s 100mm shorter and 70mm narrower overall.
GWM has the Tank 500 and is considering the release of the second-generation Haval H9, both of which are ladder frame-based seven-seat wagons more directly rivalling the Toyota Prado and Ford Everest. The latter would replace the original H9 previously available here from 2016 to 2018.
MORE: 2025 Jaecoo J8 review: Quick drive
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