Jaecoo ET tipped as Chery's first Canadian EV, a rebadged Exeed ET

Chery Automobile (HKG: 9973) is expected to open its Canadian lineup with the Jaecoo ET, a five-seat electric SUV that is essentially a rebadged Exeed ET, when its Omoda and Jaecoo brands arrive next spring. The starting price has been estimated at $65,000 to $70,000 CAD. That is an outside estimate, not a price Chery has announced.

Chery has not confirmed the model. The official Omoda & Jaecoo Canada website still names no vehicle, price or retailer, and it notes that the vehicles it shows are intended for other markets. In late September the same site said the brands were coming late 2026, while a late winter or early spring launch is now expected.

The ET comes from Exeed, Chery's upmarket brand, which sells only in China. Outside China, essentially the same vehicles are sold under the Exlantix name. For Canada, the ET is reported to get minor changes and its own design cues, including a front grille with vertical openings, and it rides on Chery's EOX platform for larger electrified models.

At about 5 metres long with a 3-metre wheelbase, the ET is larger than a Ford Mustang Mach-E or a Tesla Model Y but is pitched at the same buyers, with more space and comfort. Chery quotes 3.45 cubic metres of cabin space for the export ET, which also gets adaptive air suspension with continuous damping control.

In China, the Exeed ET is 4,955 mm long with a 3,000 mm wheelbase, and its battery-electric versions use CATL packs of 77 kWh and 100 kWh on an 800-volt platform. Battery-electric prices for the 2025 model run from 219,800 CNY (c. US$32,700) to 279,800 CNY (c. US$41,700) for the dual-motor Ultra. That all-wheel-drive version is rated at 655 km on China's CLTC cycle.

The ET first went on sale in China on May 9, 2024, when the battery-electric Ultra was priced at 319,800 CNY (c. US$47,600). The 2025 update cut that top version by 40,000 CNY, a reduction of about 12.5%.

China also gets an extended-range ET, priced from 172,800 CNY (c. US$25,700) with a gasoline range-extender engine and 265 km of CLTC electric range. No such version has been reported for Canada, where the first ET is described only as a battery-electric model.

The China-market Exeed ET, the model the Jaecoo ET is based on. The Canadian version is reported to get a grille with vertical openings (Exeed)

The Chinese car also carries Chery's Falcon driver-assistance package, with 30 sensors including lidar and two Nvidia Orin-X chips rated at 508 TOPS. Chery has not said which of those systems will be fitted to the Canadian model.

The Canadian version is reported to come standard with all-wheel drive and two motors making a combined 473 horsepower, fed by a 100 kWh battery on an 800-volt architecture. That output matches the 353 kW Chery quotes for the export Exlantix ET, which it says reaches 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds.

Preliminary figures point to about 525 km of WLTP range, or roughly 410 km on the EPA cycle, with average consumption approaching 25 kWh/100 km. Those numbers could still be revised before sales begin. DC fast charging is reported to peak at 290 kW. In China, Chery says the 800-volt ET can add 475 km of CLTC range in 11.5 minutes.

The ET is reported to use a CCS1 port rather than a NACS connector. The company says NACS will follow in the coming years, as there was not enough time to add it before the Canadian launch.

Leading with the ET reverses earlier expectations. In September, the compact Jaecoo 5 (sold elsewhere as the J5 EV) was tipped as the likelier first model, since prototypes had been spotted in Ontario on manufacturer plates and Chery had filed Canadian trademarks for its sub-brands.

Chery is reported to have made cold-weather changes for Canada. The ET is reported to get a heated steering wheel, heated mirrors and heated front and rear seats, a rear-camera washer and a heated windshield, with battery preconditioning standard. Pop-out door handles are reported to have been swapped for conventional ones that cope better with ice, and the charge-port door strengthened.

Inside, the reported Canadian specification includes Nappa leather and massaging front and rear seats, an electrochromic glass roof and a 2,140-watt, 23-speaker audio system. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are included.

Front cabin of the China-market Exeed ET with its floating centre touchscreen; Chery has not shown the Canadian Jaecoo ET interior (Exeed)

The ET would also miss out on the federal Electric Vehicle Affordability Program, which excludes Chinese-made vehicles. Its rebates require a vehicle to be made in Canada or in a country with a free-trade agreement with Canada, and cap the transaction value at $50,000 CAD for vehicles not built in Canada. The program pays up to $5,000 CAD when the dealer's eligibility assessment is submitted in 2026, and up to $4,000 CAD in 2027. The Jaecoo 5 would also miss the rebate because it is built in China, even though it is expected to sit under the $50,000 CAD price cap.

Leasing terms are still being set. Chery is working on lease offers with J.D. Power and several financial institutions. A second model, the Jaecoo 5, is expected a few months after the ET, pending Transport Canada certification, at an estimated $35,000 CAD.

The ET would enter under Ottawa's quota for China-built EVs, which are assessed at a most-favoured-nation tariff of 6.1% with a permit. The first quota year allows 49,000 vehicles and runs to February 28, 2027. As of a November 6 update, importers had used 16,206 permits, leaving 32,794. Uptake has slowed since the second six-month period opened on September 1: importers used 603 permits in September and none in October.

The second quota year opens on March 1, 2027, around the time the ET is expected to go on sale. Global Affairs Canada can also set aside part of the quota for automakers, including new entrants.

Will Chery's official price, once it finally names the car on its Canadian site, land inside that estimated range or below it?

Conversion rate: 1 USD = 6.7167 CNY as of November 10, 2026.