Jaecoo 8 on the way to CHALLENGE SUVs like the Skoda Kodiaq, Hyundai Santa Fe and more

Chinese brand Jaecoo will launch the Jaecoo 8 in the UK in the new year to challenge SUVs like the Skoda Kodiaq and Hyundai Santa Fe.

It’s easy to think that it’s Chinese EVs flooding into the UK market as buyers get pushed into EVs, but it’s not Chinese EVs sitting in the top 10 of new car sales, but a Chinese SUV with a choice of either petrol or PHEV – the Jacoo 7 – which was the fourth best-selling car in the UK in September.

Now, it’s revealed that Jaecoo will add to its ‘5’ and ‘7’ offerings in the UK next year with the Jaecoo 8, a big-ish SUV about the same size as the Skoda Kodiaq and Hyundai Santa Fe with ICE power and very likely to undercut more mainstream competition.

Already on sale in many regions, the Jaecoo 8 (J8 in some markets) has a bit of a generic family SUV look, with big grille and LED lights, with a leather interior, seven seats, dual curved 12.3″ screens and posh sound.

It seems like the 8 will be offered with either a 2.0-litre turbo petrol good for 261bhp or a PHEV with a 1.5-litre turbo petrol mated to an electric motor for a combined 530bhp and either FWD or AWD.

No prices yet for the Jaecoo 8, but a starting price around £36k seems about right.