The Growing Presence of Chinese Brands in Italy and Japanese Manufacturers’ “Phantom of the Past”/ Lorenzo’s perspective  Vol.12

Buongiorno! I’m Akio Lorenzo Oya, a journalist based in Italy. Chinese brands’ advance into Italy is accelerating. This time, I’ll decode their strategy from a launch event held by a premium brand under the Chery group at a regional dealer.

Giants Coming Into View

What’s striking about Italy’s January-November 2025 domestic new car registrations is the remarkable rise of Chinese manufacturers. MG, under SAIC Motor, recorded 46,627 units, up 27.86% year-on-year. In brand rankings, it’s already at 13th place, surpassing Korean brands Hyundai and Kia. BYD remains at 22nd with 20,275 units, but achieved a 9.4-fold registration increase compared to the previous year. The top 50 also includes Chery-affiliated Omoda and Jaecoo, EMC (the Italian name for Chery’s Kaiy), DFSK (Dongfeng Sokon), Smart (currently a joint venture between Geely and Daimler), and Lynk & Co and Polestar, both closely related to Geely. Combined, they exceed 85,000 units, surpassed only by Fiat, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Dacia (Renault’s sub-brand)—which should give you a sense of their momentum.

Several other Chinese manufacturers exist outside the top 50. DR Automobiles, which performs final assembly domestically in Italy in partnership with multiple Chinese manufacturers including Chery, can also be considered Chinese-affiliated.

Having lived in Italy for nearly 30 years, I can confirm that the increasing frequency since around 2024 of encountering cars whose brand I can’t immediately identify is due to this phenomenon.

Even the Local Corporation Head Came

On November 20, 2025, a regional dealership in Siena, central Italy, where I live, held a ceremony to launch Omoda/Jaecoo handling. As mentioned, both brands are premium brands by Chery. The crossover Omoda was launched in 2022, and the SUV Jaecoo in 2023. Sales in Italy began in 2024, and they exhibited at Milan Design Week in May 2025.

The venue, “Ugo Scotti,” is a mid-sized dealer group founded in 1986, operating 20 showrooms centered in Tuscany. Starting with former Fiat brands—Fiat, Lancia, and Alfa Romeo—they’ve added Abarth, Jeep, and Mercedes-Benz/Smart. In recent years, they’ve also begun selling Volkswagen and Audi. Since 2024, they’ve opened showrooms for Leapmotor, a Chinese manufacturer in which Stellantis has invested, within some existing locations.

When I visited at the opening time of 8 PM that evening, the venue was buzzing with many invitees despite the rain. While this dealership has frequently held similar preview events for other brands, this event was the most successful.

Even more surprising was that Kevin Cheng, CEO of Chery Automotive Italy, personally came from the Milan headquarters. Accompanying him were Alfredo Pastore, Sales Director with extensive FCA experience; Nicola Marsala, Business Director who transferred from Kia Italia; and Diego Fiorenzoli, Aftersales Director with rich experience at Mitsubishi Motor Automobilis Italia.

In their speeches, they emphasized the “Super Hybrid System (SHS).” In the case of the Jaecoo J7 SHS, it’s a plug-in hybrid with a 105kW 1.5-liter 4-cylinder engine and 150kW motor, which they claim boasts a maximum EV mode range of 90 km. They also promoted comprehensive warranty coverage: 7 years or 150,000 km, with unlimited mileage for the first 3 years, and 8 years or 160,000 km for BEV version components.

Sakura the High School Student’s Opinion

According to the PR staff of the hosting dealer group, orders for Omoda/Jaecoo are strong, with numbers across all locations double initial projections. While acknowledging potential competition with some Jeep models they’ve traditionally handled, he stated that in today’s challenging market environment, Omoda/Jaecoo will definitely help the group’s business.

Mauro Bennati, promoted from Audi sales staff to Omoda/Jaecoo sales manager at the Siena location, testified that they’re seeing switches from Jeep Renegade as well as Nissan and Hyundai SUV models. Indeed, when I asked a young couple who had already purchased a Jaecoo about their previous vehicle, they answered it was a Jeep Renegade. As evident from home appliances in Europe including Italy, the status of legacy brands in durable consumer goods is rapidly declining. Behind the rise of Chinese premium brands is this user preference spreading to automobiles as well.

Of course, some segments can’t follow this trend. One elderly man I spoke with turned out to be a premium customer of Mercedes-Benz, handled by the same dealer group. Though invited that day, he showed little interest in Omoda and Jaecoo. How to capture older premium brand customers will likely be key for Omoda/Jaecoo.

The most impressive visitor I met that evening was a high school girl named Sakura, who came with her family. As her name suggests, her parents are major Japanophiles who’ve visited Japan 10 times. She herself has already visited Japan twice.

According to Sakura, “I have absolutely no negative impression of Chinese cars.” Tracing Omoda’s character lines with her hand, she shared her impression: “I think it’s really cool!” In Italian educational institutions today, Asian classmates including Chinese are no longer unusual. Increased exposure to Asian culture through social media has clearly lowered resistance to Chinese brand cars.

It’s the Path Japan Walked

Chery, which owns both Omoda and Jaecoo brands, already established an R&D center in Raunheim am Main near Frankfurt Airport, Germany in 2018, employing over a hundred staff. Designers and engineers are successively being recruited from other European and Japanese OEMs and mega-suppliers. Furthermore, in September 2025, they announced establishing Europe’s second R&D base in suburban Barcelona, Spain, also the planned production site. If comprehensive design capabilities including CMF (Color, Material, Finish) improve further, European customers’ image of Chinese brands could change.

Actually, some Chinese manufacturers that entered before Omoda/Jaecoo couldn’t secure sufficient market share due to aftersales service dissatisfaction. To not waste designers’ efforts, I hope Omoda/Jaecoo’s local corporation and regional dealers maintain sincere and continuous service systems.

Chinese brands have the advantage of “piggybacking” on the favorable impression previously built by Japanese and Korean manufacturers as fellow Asians. On the other hand, as documented in various corporate histories, Japanese manufacturers in 1960s America, like Omoda/Jaecoo today, had Japanese executives from local corporations energetically visiting small dealers and events, helping their promotional activities and building trust. Am I the only one who, when encountering Chinese brands in Italy, feels like I’m seeing a phantom of the toughness Japan once possessed?

Well everyone, until next time, arrivederci!