Chery Chairman apologises after Omoda 5 axle failure in Malaysia
Chery chairman and president Yin Tongyue has apologised for vehicle quality concerns in Malaysia after a Chery Omoda 5 lost its rear axle assembly, prompting a regulatory investigation and a recall covering 8,878 vehicles.
Speaking at the World Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference (WICV) on October 21, Yin acknowledged the concerns and said he had apologised to Malaysia’s investment, trade and industry minister. He also urged Chinese automakers to approach overseas expansion with humility and a long-term commitment.
“We are not going overseas to reap quick profits, but to put down roots and cultivate these markets for the long term,” Yin said, according to Sohu. He stressed the importance of respecting local laws, regulations and business practices when entering overseas markets.
JPJ suspends Omoda 5 registrations
The incident occurred in Johor Bahru on October 6, when the rear suspension assembly and wheels separated from the vehicle’s body. The incident prompted Malaysia’s Road Transport Department (JPJ) to take regulatory action.
On October 11, JPJ temporarily suspended Vehicle Type Approval (VTA) for the Omoda 5, halting new registrations while it investigated the incident and assessed potential safety risks. The department instructed Chery Malaysia to identify potentially affected vehicles using part numbers, production batches and vehicle identification numbers (VINs).
JPJ’s technical audit covers production and assembly processes, quality-control systems, weld inspections and relevant axle-component suppliers. According to the department’s announcement, the suspension is tied to the investigation and the implementation of appropriate corrective and preventive measures.
Recall covers 8,878 Omoda 5 vehicles
The recall scope was reported as 8,878 Omoda 5 C and H variants on October 14. That figure represents the vehicles covered by the campaign, not a count of vehicles confirmed to have defective rear axles. Owners can check their vehicle identification numbers through Chery Malaysia’s recall notice. The company says it will inspect affected vehicles and, where necessary, replace the relevant component free of charge.
Chery O5 has a different rear suspension
Chery replaced the original petrol-powered Omoda 5 in Malaysia with the Chery O5 in September 2025. The newer model uses a multi-link rear suspension, unlike the original Omoda 5’s torsion-beam layout. The VTA suspension concerns the Omoda 5 covered by JPJ’s action; available information does not show that the newer O5 is subject to the same suspension issue.
The current recall follows a 2024 campaign
The case follows a separate 2024 campaign involving 600 Omoda 5 vehicles after a rear-axle failure. Chery attributed that earlier issue to a component supplier’s equipment-calibration problem. We examined the questions raised by the current recall and its relationship to the 2024 inspection campaign. The earlier campaign and the current recall differ in scope, and available information does not show they share the same root cause.
| Parameter | 2024 campaign | 2026 campaign |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicles screened or covered | 600 vehicles screened | 8,878 vehicles covered by recall |
| Scope | Precautionary inspection campaign | Recall covering Omoda 5 C and H variants |
| Corrective action | Inspection of potentially affected vehicles | Inspection and component replacement where necessary |
The latest incident has renewed scrutiny of component quality, supplier oversight and vehicle safety checks. The cause of the October incident remains subject to investigation and should not be conflated with the supplier-calibration issue cited in 2024.
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