Editor's Note: Chery OMODA 5 faces repeated quality hazards and a large-scale recall overseas. With a high market share overseas and advancing globalization, this event impacts the brand and market, testing Chery's true strength in quality control and global layout.

Chery OMODA 5 Axle Breakage Incident

On October 11, Chery Automobile issued a statement saying that a batch of 2023 OMODA 5 vehicles sold in the Malaysian market have insufficient welding strength at partial welding locations of the rear axle longitudinal arms, posing a risk. Chery will cooperate with JPJ's arrangements, has initiated a recall for the affected 8,878 vehicles, will inspect relevant parts, and replace them for free if necessary.

Regarding this, Chery Company stated: In accordance with the principle of prudence, the company has launched a special risk inspection for the same batch of OMODA 5 models in the domestic and relevant markets, and is maintaining active communication with regulatory bodies. This inspection is a preventive proactive arrangement. Chery will, based on the inspection results, publish to the society in a timely manner with a responsible attitude.

This incident occurred at a node where Chery Automobile's overseas sales continued to rise, and the same model had experienced similar failures in Malaysia. In 2024, a case of OMODA 5 rear axle breakage was exposed locally. At that time, Chery's investigation concluded that the rear axle welding equipment calibration was improper, and 600 vehicles were screened. More than two years later, the same model showed relevant hazards in the same market again. This incident also triggered the suspension of certification and registration of the model locally and the audit of the manufacturing quality system, and also focused the market on the production consistency control level of the chassis welding process of the model. Moreover, there are differences between overseas and domestic regulatory systems. Many overseas motor vehicle regulatory agencies have a more rigid disposal method for mass manufacturing defects: in addition to regular recalls, the regulator has the right to suspend or even freeze model certification, directly restricting new car registration and sales from the access end. This means that for Chinese automakers going overseas, besides competing on product competitiveness and export scale, they must also adapt to local regulatory rules. The continuously rising overseas sales volume requires a stable quality control system to support scale expansion.

Exports Increased by 65.6% in the First Three Quarters

It is worth noting that Chery OMODA 5 is an SUV model built by Chery for the global market. It has been sold in more than 40 countries worldwide, with cumulative sales exceeding 250,000 units. According to official Chery data, exports in the first three quarters of 2026 were 1,551,178 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 65.6%, surpassing the total export volume of last year. After the occurrence of this axle breakage incident, Malaysia suspended the certification and registration of the model, which impacted the sales rhythm of the car locally, and the large-scale recall also increased significant costs.

Bai Wenxi, Vice Chairman of the China Enterprise Capital Alliance, told Caiwen: Chery's response to this recall was not considered slow. In terms of attitude, "active apology + cross-border synchronous inspection" is more decent than many overseas automakers, but the cost of trust has doubled. This brings a test to the OMODA product and Chery's brand image in the Southeast Asian region.

Chery Globalization 3.0 Strategy Implementation

Recently, Chery's global actions have been continuous. On October 7, the announcement issued by Chery Automobile proposed to fully promote the implementation of Chery Automobile Globalization 3.0 strategy, and strengthen integrated domestic and foreign operations. The main brand will be incorporated into the global market system as a whole. This strategic adjustment also fits the current sales structure. According to the sales data released by Chery for the first three quarters of 2026, Chery sold a total of 2,206,789 cars, with exports of 1,551,178 units. Exports account for nearly 70% of total sales, and the overseas market is the core basic market for sales. Moreover, in the first three quarters of 2026, Chery Group's overseas exports reached 1.5512 million units, higher than BYD's 1.3378 million units, SAIC's 1.1660 million units, Geely's 0.7977 million units, ranking first among domestic independent automakers going overseas. As can be seen, Chery's overseas business accounts for a high proportion. With the expansion of overseas scale, higher requirements are also put forward for the synchronous upgrading of product quality, localization adaptation, and supporting service systems.

With the promotion of Chery's Globalization 3.0 strategy, the proportion of overseas business in total sales continues to rise. As its global model, OMODA 5 triggered a large-scale recall and local regulatory restrictions in Malaysia this time. Combined with previous similar fault records in the same market, related inspections, rectifications, and subsequent market changes will continue to receive industry attention.