China’s GAC doesn’t plan to follow its rivals by introducing sub-brands in Australia.
Chery pioneered the trend Down Under, introducing the likes of Omoda Jaecoo and, soon, Lepas to complement its namesake brand. A fourth brand – Jetour – is also set to arrive later this year, followed by iCaur.
Fellow heavy-hitters MG and BYD have followed suit, launching IM and Denza, respectively.
However, GAC intends to expand its product portfolio – which currently includes the Emzoom, Aion UT, Aion V, and M8 – through a single, recognisable name.
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“We have centralised sub-brands as one GAC strategy to keep simple and direct communication with the public, customers, dealerships, media, and so on. We focus on one GAC,” local boss Kevin Shu told CarExpert.
The reason? GAC doesn’t want to further confuse Australian new-car buyers during a time of unprecedented change – at least 10 new manufacturers entered or re-entered the Australian market in 2025, and more are due to land over the coming months.
“More choice, [makes it] more difficult to choose. So we keep one brand, one GAC,” said Mr Shu.
“For GAC in the Australia market, we want to go along with our customer. We want to keep the customer in our platform forever.”
And, unlike Chery, BYD and MG, GAC has yet to establish credibility locally, having only commenced operations late last year.
“Awareness is very important for us,” explained Masato Katsumata, GAC International CTO.
“To establish awareness from the typical customer, we have to invest a lot. [If] we had two brands, then we’d have to invest double.”
GAC’s brand strategy differs in its home country, where the models we’re familiar with in Australia are branded Trumpchi.
Sitting alongside Trumpchi is Hyptec, GAC’s premium arm which sells upmarket electric models such as the SSR electric supercar. Aion is considered the mainstream EV brand.
But, at least for now, all exported GAC models will be badged with those three letters first and foremost – both in Australia and other export markets.
That’s a significant commitment, as the lineup is set to expand to a whopping 10 models by 2030, by which time GAC is also targeting a network of 100 dealer locations across the country.
Meanwhile, Chery is expected to double down on its brand expansion plan, given Jetour’s impending touchdown and the expected launch of iCaur within the next 18 months. Exeed and Karry also sit under the Chery umbrella.
Chery Australia has previously told CarExpert the company’s growing family of brands is designed to reach different types of buyers rather than create a traditional brand ladder based on price or prestige.
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