Thatcham to guide 'insurability' of Omoda and Jaecoo cars in the UK

Chery Automobile, the Chinese car maker behind the Omoda and Jaecoo brands, has employed Thatcham to help ensure its cars are easy to insure in the UK.

The move comes after concerns were raised by insurance underwriters that some Chinese cars were difficult to repair following an accident. The availability of repair information and parts was cited as the key concerns.

Thatcham Research will collaborate with Chery engineers to make recommendations on potential enhancements to vehicle design, based on reporting of vehicle damageability performance against international RCAR standards.

The partnership will also include dedicated vehicle research with a view to producing BS10125 compliant repair methods to service the most common repairs required in the UK and European market.

In addition, Thatcham Research will work with Chery to prepare all new vehicles to meet the requirements of the New Vehicle Security Assessment (NVSA), with virtual and physical testing to scope “theft of” and “theft from” risk, making practical vehicle design interventions where required.

Ben Townsend, Thatcham Research head of automotive, said: “The goal is to ensure that Chery vehicles coming off the production line are as insurable as they are innovative, bridging the gap between cutting-edge design and practicality in maintenance and repair.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Chery to bake repairability into the DNA of vehicle design from the get-go. By doing so, Chery is signalling its intent to anticipate the needs and challenges of the future and address them today, creating a better total cost of ownership experience for its drivers.”

The announcement of the partnership with Chery comes as Townsend and Thatcham Research’s chief commercial officer Miller Crockart, visit China-based vehicle manufacturers and like-minded research institutions in the region, to discuss the idiosyncrasies of the UK and European market and proactive measures that can be adopted to address repair and insurance teething problems.