The Jaecoo 7 – also known as the viral ‘Temu Range Rover’ – has been crowned the most popular new car among private buyers as it concluded a remarkable first year on sale in Britain, Daily Mail and This is Money can exclusively reveal.
‘Private buyers’ in car sales records are drivers who purchase or finance their own motors, rather vehicles entering the road via fleet or business registrations.
The Jaecoo 7, which has become a TikTok sensation as the cheaper Chinese Range Rover Velar alternative for school-run mums, has recorded 30,100 private sales in the last 12 months.
That’s despite the model only launching in UK showrooms in January 2025.
At the heart of its appeal is its price, costing just £30,115 – almost half the price of a Velar.
Figures published this morning show that Jaecoo, the Wuhu brand that only arrived in the UK 12 months ago, has amassed 33,173 sales between 31 January 2025 and 31 2026.
The ‘Temu Range Rover’ is a sales sensation: 30,100 units of the cut-price SUV were sold between January 2025 and 2026, despite the model only being launched one year ago
Jaecoo – which is owned by China’s largest car exporter, Chery – is officially the fastest-growing mainstream automotive brand the UK has seen in the last ten years.
The brand told us it has ‘delivered one of the strongest debut performances seen in the automotive market in over a decade’.
Integral to both Jaecoo and the 7’s popularity has been its ‘Super Hybrid System’ (SHS) system.
This plug-in hybrid drivetrain – which costs £35,165 – provides a 745-mile combined petrol and electric range.
The 1.5-litre combustion engine is married to a 18.7kWh battery giving buyers 56 miles of EV-only range, so most weekly errand running or city/town driving can be completed without the use of the combustion engine.
In comparison, the twice-as-expensive Range Rover Velar PHEV has an EV-only range of just 30 miles.
One ‘Temu Range Rover Mum’, Chantel, told us that she saves ‘a lot of money; with her 7 SHS compared to the Range Rover she used to own: ‘The Jaecoo only costs £60 to fill up and lasts forever, versus about £100 for the Range Rover.’
One ‘Temu Range Rover Mum’, Chantel, told us that she saves a lot of money with her 7 SHS compared to the Range Rover she used to own: ‘The Jaecoo only costs £60 to fill up and lasts forever, versus about £100 for the Range Rover’
Another major benefit is that the Jaecoo 7 performs like a self-charging hybrid, with the SHS system designed so the battery never fully depletes and will keep enough power to tap into electric mode when required.
Thanks to this new-energy tech and the appeal of ultra-low running costs, the SHS model accounted for seven in ten of all Jaecoo 7 sales last year.
Jaecoo said: ‘Alongside the availability of a conventional ICE [internal combustion engine] powertrain, the Jaecoo 7 range reflects the brand’s commitment to offering variety as UK drivers navigate the transition to electrification at their own pace.’
Jaecoo also expanded its UK range during 2025 with the introduction of the Jaecoo 5 and all-electric E5, which ‘reinforced a customer-led approach to powertrain choice’, it said.
Thanks to its ‘Super Hybrid System’, the Jaecoo 7 SHS can eek out 745 miles of combined driving range from a full tank and battery
The family-friendly 7 SHS model accounted for just over 70% of all Jaecoo 7 sales in 2025
In January Jaecoo registered 4,850 cars, according to official market data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Its sister brand Omoda – also debuting last year – helped the brand house start 2026 with a 4.64 per cent market representation.
And demand for both brands – alongside the newly launched standalone Chery car brand and another sister company, Lepas – looks set to continue growing with continued investment across its UK network and further additions to the range on the horizon.
Gary Lan, CEO of Jaecoo UK, told us: ‘Our first year has been about building trust through product and delivery.
‘From the launch of the Jaecoo 7 to the expansion of the range and dealer network, the focus has been on offering genuine choice, strong value, and a level of support that customers can rely on.
‘The response from private buyers in particular has shown that this approach is resonating, and it gives us a solid foundation as we move into our second year in the UK.
‘Establishing a brand in a single year is one thing; sustaining momentum is another.
‘The results we’ve seen in 2025 give us confidence as we continue to invest in our products, our network, and our aftersales support, ensuring Jaecoo remains competitive and relevant in an ever-evolving market.’
Spotted on the streets: Jaecoo 7s are a frequent spot on the roads, with many mums taking to the wheel of their affordable SUVs for the school run
Why mums love the ‘Temu range Rover’
Last year, Daily Mail and This is Money spoke to number of Jaecoo 7 owners, including mum and influencer Olivia Mundy.
It was TikTok that first hooked her on the Jaecoo 7, along with seeing it online.
‘Once I looked into the features it had and saw one in person, I was sold,’ she told This is Money.
‘I love the look of a Range Rover, but it’s not realistically in my budget, especially with mum life and everything else.
‘With the Jaecoo, I felt like I was getting a premium car for a fraction of the cost’.
And Olivia thinks the plug-in hybrid 7 SHS [Super Hybrid System] is ‘honestly the perfect car’ for mums.
‘The space, the boot size, the big screen, the safety features: it all works so well with having a little one.’
It was also very appealing for Olivia’s mum life that the Jaecoo 7 is available in the SHS PHEV form.
‘I always wanted something to cheaper to run but without going fully electric. A plug-in hybrid feels like the perfect middle ground.’
But while the practicalities were a big draw of the Jaecoo 7, it’s something altogether sillier that Olivia says is her favourite feature: the karaoke machine.
‘Who wouldn’t want a karaoke machine in their car?’, she asks.
‘I think [the Temu term] is funny! I get what people mean by it, it looks like a luxury car but without the luxury price. I don’t take it negatively at all.’
Chantel, who goes by Diaries of a Business Mum on TikTok and Instagram, changed her Range Rover Sport for a Jaecoo 7 SHS
Another mum, Chantel, who goes by Diaries of a Business Mum on TikTok and Instagram, told us she swapped her pricey Range Rover Sport Autobiography for the Jaecoo 7.
After four years of having the Range Rover (her husband is a car guy who’d always wanted a Range Rover) they needed to save money as they were renovating a house.
The Range Rover was ‘so expensive to run and service, and monthly payments were expensive too’, with the family already opting to shop it in. Then Chantel saw the Jaecoo on TikTok.
She said sees the Range Rover as the ‘pre-kid car’ – the motor for her husband to ‘get out of his system’ before starting a family.
She explained to us: ‘We have had our first child, a daughter, in the last year and priorities shift. You want to spend your money elsewhere, and we need more disposable income for things we want to do with her.’
For Chantel, the Jaecoo 7 then is the smart buy for ‘any young family who needs to save money’ and would recommend it to all young families.
Chantel doesn’t mind if it’s a knock-off Ranger Rover if it means cheaper fuel bills: ‘The Jaecoo only costs £60 to fill up and lasts forever, versus about £100 for the Range Rover.’
