In late May, automotive brand Omoda | Jaecoo brought its cutting-edge new hybrid models and proprietary powertrain technology to Santiago, Chile, marking an important milestone in its expansion across the Caribbean and Latin American (LATAM) regions.
Hosted across May 26 and 27, the LATAM Super Hybrid Experience invited automotive journalists from more than 15 regional markets to get firsthand behind-the-wheel experience with the brand’s new electrified offerings through a curated lineup of exclusive activities. Chile was selected as the host venue for a strategic reason: it was the brand’s first entry point into the LATAM market three years prior, and has since served as a stable base for its regional growth, executives explained.
Caesar Huang, Deputy General Manager for Omoda | Jaecoo’s LATAM Region, shared the brand’s outlook on electrification with the Jamaica Observer’s Auto magazine. “We see that hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid, and fully battery electric powertrains are the clear global trend – we’ve watched this shift unfold in China, across Europe, in Southeast Asia, and now it is taking hold across LATAM as well,” Huang said. Nicolas Pietrantoni, Commercial Director for Omoda | Jaecoo Chile, echoed this framing, noting that the event gave visiting regional journalists an opportunity to test vehicles and familiarize themselves with the brand’s new Super Hybrid System (SHS) before introducing the technology to consumers in their home markets.
The two core variants of SHS anchor the brand’s new electrified lineup: SHS-H, the standard hybrid configuration, and SHS-P, the plug-in hybrid option. Regardless of variant, the brand says models equipped with SHS deliver more than 1,000 kilometers of range on a single full tank of fuel. To validate this claim and let reporters experience real-world performance, the brand organized a cross-country fuel efficiency challenge following the initial press briefing. Journalists took the wheel of two preview models – the Omoda C5 SHS-H and Jaecoo J7 SHS-P – on a route that stretched from downtown Santiago through Chile’s rural wine country and back, putting both models through a mixed set of road and traffic conditions while efficiency data was tracked. A pair of Peruvian drivers, Enrique Pérez and Nicolás Orihuela, took top honors in the challenge.
On the event’s second day, the newly unveiled Omoda C7 joined the existing test fleet, giving journalists the chance to push all three models to their performance limits on a closed driving course. That evening, the brand made three models’ regional debuts official: the Omoda C5 SHS-H, Jaecoo J8 SHS-P, and Omoda C7 SHS-P. The Omoda C7 SHS-P will roll out to a limited number of regional markets initially, Huang confirmed.
All SHS-equipped models share a core powertrain architecture centered on a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder internal combustion engine paired with a dedicated hybrid transmission (DHT) that integrates dual electric motors. The full system delivers a combined 224 brake horsepower and 218 pound-feet of torque. The standard SHS-H hybrid uses a 1.83kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, while the SHS-P plug-in variant upgrades to a larger 18.4kWh LFP battery, adds 40kW external fast-charging capability, boosts total output, and includes standard all-wheel drive.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2024, Huang announced that the brand is preparing to launch another high-volume model, the Omoda 4, which was first unveiled in April at the Beijing Auto Show at the brand’s Wuhu, China headquarters. The new model will be launched in the second half of the year across the region, and will offer three powertrain options: traditional internal combustion, hybrid electric, and fully battery electric, with the variant lineup coming to Caribbean markets in the near future.