Trademark Dispute Could Halt Chery Plans

Chery recently announced plans to spin off the Omoda badge into its own sub-brand, to be sold alongside Chery’s other sub-brand, Jaecoo – but those plans could already be in trouble.

Speaking to Australian media recently, Chery Australia Chief Commercial Officer Roy Munoz confirmed Chery would launch Omoda with a new line-up of models – with the current Chery Omoda 5 to be renamed as the Chery C5.

However, French brand Citroen – which departed the Australian market in late 2024, following 101 years of local operations – could have something to say about Chery’s decision.

While sales of the C5 Aircross ended with Citroen’s departure, the local trademark for the Citroen C5 is still owned by the French carmaker, and isn’t due to be renewed until 2030.

Trademarks are protected by law for 10 years, even if the company has been deregistered.

Stellantis, the owner of 14 global car brands including Citroen, could theoretically license the C5 name to Chery, given it no longer sells the car in this market – though car companies don’t have a track record of doing each other favours.

It’s not the first time a Chinese car company has faced pushback from established rivals in Australia.

In 2022, Audi attempted to block the registration of ES6, ES7, and ES8 trademarks by Nio, arguing they were too close to the company’s high-performance S6, S7, and S8 models.

While Audi’s claim was ultimately unsuccessful – with Nio winning its case in late 2024 – Chery may have a more difficult time, given the model name is identical to Citroen’s.

Stellantis may also choose to oppose the trademark to ensure the door is left open for Citroen to return to the Australian market in the coming years.

CarSauce has approached former Citroen importer Inchape for comment.