A team of motoring experts from one of the UK’s leading car reviewing websites has crowned their car of the year. After rigorous testing and reviewing, automotive journalists from online marketplace and car reviewing site Carwow have chosen the Chery Tiggo 8 as their Car of the Year.
The Chery Tiggo 8 is manufactured by Chinese car company Chery, one of several Chinese automotive brands that have made a significant impact in the UK in recent years. Similar to brands like Jaecoo and Seal, Chery has been warmly received for its value for money and quality. This has been reflected in the Chery winning both Carwow’s Car of the Year award and their Hybrid Hero award.
Explaining why the Tiggo 8 had triumphed, Chief Content Officer at Carwow Mat Watson stated: “Chery’s debut to the UK market couldn’t have impressed me more. The Tiggo 8 is one of those cars that seems almost too good to be true.
“It’s a premium-feeling SUV with loads of space for seven occupants, a cutting-edge hybrid system, all the luxury kit you could want… yet it costs about the same as a European hatchback.
An Audi Q7 (Image: Getty)
“If a Chinese car was ever going to conquer the market, it should be this one. It’s unbeatable value and feels like so much more than a budget family bus.” Price-wise, the Chery Tiggo 8 compares extremely favourably to similar-looking and similarly-sized European rivals such as the Audi Q7.
According to Carwow, whilst the RRP (Regular Retail Price) of an Audi Q7 ranges between £70,66 and £99,975, the RRP of a Chery Tiggo 8 sits between £28,545 and £36,545. Meanwhile, fellow Chinese brand Jaecoo, who manufacture the popular Range Rover-esque Jaecoo 7, secured brand of the year.
On this, Mat added: “Jaecoo feels like it’s been selling cars in the UK for no more than five minutes, yet it’s taken the market by storm. It’s already nipping at the heels of the best-sellers and the Jaecoo 7 SUV has topped enquiries charts on the Carwow platform this year.
“No wonder; Jaecoo cars look cool, pack loads of standard equipment and yet cost far less than alternatives from European, Japanese or Korean brands.”
A Jaecoo 7 (Image: Getty)
It comes as statistics indicate Chinese cars are capturing an increasingly larger portion of the UK’s market.
Renowned electric car reviewing publication Electrifying.com recently examined data from the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) which revealed that the likes of BYD, Changan, Chery, GWM, Jaecoo, KGM, Leapmotor, Omoda, Skywell, and Xpeng now command 4.8 per cent of the UK market.
Commenting on this, automotive journalist Ginny Buckley suggested some major European names might collapse in the coming years.
She wrote: “So, could these new brands sound the death knell for some existing ones? Will we see a Kodak moment in the car industry – a big name vanishing because it couldn’t cut through fast enough as the technology shifted? Put simply, yes.
“My view is simple: not all brands will survive. You’ve only got to look at those currently suffering most. Will we be able to buy a new Seat in 10 years’ time when we’ve all gone electric? I don’t think so. And will all the Stellantis brands still be around? I suspect not.”
