First look at the new Omoda crossover coming to South Africa – Photos

Omoda has officially unveiled its smallest car to date in the form of the new Omoda 3 crossover, which is coming to South Africa.

The 3 (C3 in South Africa) made its international debut in Chery’s hometown of Wuhu in China on 27 April, where the media were shown their first glimpse of a production-ready example of the new car.

The C3 will go on sale in markets worldwide as soon as October 2025, though a spokesperson for Omoda South Africa stated that we will receive it a bit later, likely in early 2026.

Lots to be excited about

Omoda, for those who aren’t familiar, is a luxury sub-brand of the Chery Automotive Group that launched in South Africa in 2023.

It currently has two models in its portfolio, the C5 and C9, which as their designation suggests, are larger in size than the incoming C3.

The C3 is aimed at younger age demographics, which becomes evident once you take a closer look at the crossover’s design and features list.

The car’s appearance is heavily inspired by Mecha, which refers to a genre of East Asian science fiction involving giant robots.

The team behind the C3’s design cited Japanese manga and anime franchises like Gundam as their primary inspiration, which is reflected in the sleek polygonal shapes and lines that make up the car’s profile.

It has an aggressive front end with slim LED headlights and daytime running lights, and the model we saw sported a “Stellar Blue” paint scheme with a two-tone black roof, bumpers, and wheel arches.

Unfortunately, the display model had heavily tinted windows so we weren’t able to get a proper look at the interior.

However, during the presentation, the company provided images on the main screen, giving us an illustration of what to expect.

The sci-fi inspiration carries through to the cabin, which Omoda refers to as its “Starship Cockpit.”

The dashboard features a multifunction steering wheel with a stalk for changing gears, a small fully-digital driver display, and a large portrait infotainment screen.

The centre console has dual wireless charging pads, two cupholders, and the keyless start button, which you flip open to access similar to what you’d expect from a fighter plane, or a Lamborghini Aventador

Many of the panels wear a carbon fibre-effect finish, and the upholstery appears to be a mix of cloth and artificial leather with a blue stitching pattern.

One particularly interesting feature highlighted at the event is that the C3 will include on-board video games, which are displayed on the infotainment screen.

These are not your basic mobile games, either, as Omoda confirmed the car has integrated support for the Nintendo Switch portable gaming console, and the teaser image at the event also showed what appeared to be a PlayStation 5 controller, though this wasn’t officially stated.

Obviously, these systems are not to be used by the driver while the car is in motion, but it will likely be an entertaining distraction for passengers on long journeys.

Another touted selling point is that the C3 will be available with various modification packages that add things like decals, a rear spoiler, and new alloy rims.

Omoda has yet to announce the powertrain selection for the crossover, but a company rep told TopAuto that it will almost certainly come with a pure ICE (internal combustion engine) setup.

The C3 may also receive either a mild-hybrid or a traditional hybrid drivetrain, but there are currently no plans for a plug-in hybrid since this option goes against the car’s entry-level market positioning.

The gearbox is another unknown quantity, but we were told that a CVT is highly unlikely given that the C3 is aiming to be a sporty model, which means something like a dual-clutch transmission could be a safe bet.

More details about the Omoda C3, such as its price tag, will be revealed closer to its launch date.

Omoda C3