Chery Omoda E5 lands in Malaysia ahead of media preview – CBU EV with 450 km range launching in 2024

Chery Malaysia has announced that the first units of Omoda E5 has arrived in Port Klang and will soon be previewed to the media ahead of the model’s launch. This isn’t much of a surprise as a few units of the electric vehicle (EV) in right-hand drive guise were spotted being transported on a trailer earlier this month.

In an official release, the company didn’t state a launch date for the Omoda E5 but it previously confirmed that this will happen in 2024. Unlike the Omoda 5 that is locally assembled (CKD) in Malaysia, the Omoda E5 will be offered as a fully-imported (CBU) EV, although it isn’t known if it will eventually go the CKD route.

For a brief recap, the Omoda E5 made its debut at this year’s Auto Shanghai as the fully electric version of the Omoda 5, which went on sale here in July this year. Already open for booking in Indonesia (with CKD production set to start there in early 2024), the Omoda E5 offers up to 450 km of range following the CLTC standard.

This is thanks to its lithium-ion battery with an energy capacity of 61 kWh, which powers a front-mounted electric motor rated 224 PS (221 hp or 165 kW) for a 0-100 km/h time of 7.8 seconds. The Chinese carmaker claims the powertrain consumes as little as 15 kWh/100 km and the battery can be recharged from 20-80% in just 30 minutes.

Chery Omoda E5 lands in Malaysia ahead of media preview – CBU EV with 450 km range launching in 2024

As for specifications, the Malaysia-spec Omoda E5 will be equipped with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) that includes 16 functions, which include blind spot monitoring, autonomous emergency braking and rear cross traffic alert. Chery Malaysia also points out that the EV will be available in seven exterior colours as well as three interior colours.

The Omoda E5 is differentiated from the petrol-powered Omoda 5 by its face, which features a closed-off grille that has the brand script (instead of a logo) above the charge port door. On the inside, both SUVs are familiar similar, except the centre console in the EV version doesn’t have a gear lever and has more stowage space.

The Omoda 5 currently retails from RM108,800 to RM118,800 across two variants. How much do you expect its EV sibling, the Omoda E5, to go for? Leave your guesses in the comments below and stay tuned as we bring you more details from the upcoming media preview.