New laws kill off Chinese vehicles
- Suzuki Jimny
- Chery J1
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- Chery J1 2013
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- Chery J1 2015
- Chery J1 2016
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The $9,990 Chery J1 had been the cheapest car on the Australian market.
New safety regulations brought into force from today herald the end of the Chinese-built Chery J1 city car and the Great Wall X240 SUV.
The new laws require all new vehicles sold to have stability control -- a feature neither of those two offers. The Chery J1 has been a slow seller this year, beset by stiff competition from mainstream brands that saw it slice its price from $11,000 to $9,990 driveway. However even with the price drop, it has sold only 744 this year to the end of September -- down from 969 at the same time last year.
The $23,990 Great Wall X240 SUV has fared even worse in sales, moving 340 year to date compared to 849 this time last year.
Other vehicles affected by the new laws include the Suzuki Jimny Sierra, however some vehicles that miss out on stability control -- including the Toyota 70 Series LandCruiser and Foton Tunland -- are classified as commercial vehicles and therefore exempt from the ruling.
This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott
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