Don't expect a wagon resurgence, says Chinese automaker’s design boss

First, it was wagons that were popular with families. Then people movers had their moment in the 1980s and 1990s, particularly in Europe and the US, before SUVs well and truly took hold.

Chery's global design director isn't sure what will come next, but he does know one thing: we're not going to come full circle and embrace wagons to the same degree again.

You’d be forgiven for thinking wagons are enjoying a moment again, particularly in China.

The sleek Zeekr 7GT and Denza Z9 GT are coming to Australia, with the Avatr 06T likely to follow, and there are many more back in China including the Nio ET5 Touring, Fangchengbao Formula S GT, Lynk & Co 07 GT, and Chery's upcoming Exeed ES7 GT.

But when asked whether wagons will replace SUVs on buyers' consideration lists, Chery global design director Steve Eum said SUVs are here to stay.

“Personally, I don’t think we’ll go back to a wagon. We’re sort of used to our bigger headroom, our taller driving position, that’s the biggest positive feedback that we get from a lot of our buyers,” Mr Eum told CarExpert.

“I think we all sort of got spoiled, because of the optimisation of the automotive industry. The biggest feedback that I get with SUVs, especially from a female standpoint, is that they love the higher driving position. So it’s hard to get back into a sedan, especially with ingress, egress, drivability, the vision angle – those are all plusses.

“Of course a sedan probably has better interaction between the road and the driver, but I don’t think that matters now because the technology of the suspension, the air suspension, the ride height and all that, it’s just automatically with AI or computers, it’s far beyond this normal hardware that we have.”

It's unclear what is fuelling this rapid proliferation of wagons in China, a market where the body style has never enjoyed the same level of popularity it traditionally has had in Europe. Besides the aforementioned models, brands such as Aistaland and Stelato have all debuted wagons over the past couple of years.

According to Boyan Consulting, via Chinese outlet Sina, wagon sales grew 27.8 per cent in China in 2025 to 161,000 units, and are projected to grow a further 16.1 per cent this year. The consultancy firm says this high growth rate gives the body style enormous potential, thus explaining why more than 10 wagon models have been launched or confirmed for launch so far this year in China.

But it's unclear whether this presages a similar trend in markets such as Australia.

Station wagons faded in popularity in the 1990s and 2000s in markets like the US and Australia, supplanted by people movers and SUVs. Even in wagon-loving Europe, the number of models has dropped.

Currently in Australia there are just 11 wagons on sale: the Audi A5 (including the S5 and RS5), Audi RS6, BMW 3 Series (including the M3), BMW 5 Series (including the i5 and M5), BYD Seal 6, Cupra Leon, Genesis G70, Porsche Taycan, Skoda Octavia and Superb, and Subaru WRX. Rewind 10 years, and there were around three times as many wagon nameplates on our market.

When asked what body style will come next, Mr Eum said: "I can't tell you".

"We use this term crossover where you take one vehicle and try to merge it with another and we’ve been doing that and I think there’s still going to be more experimentation and innovations that’s going to come out from that sort of thinking, so that’s why utes might be one of them."

That suggests more hybrids between SUVs and utes, much like the E07 Multitruck from rival Chinese brand Deepal. The E07 Multitruck resembles a coupe SUV, but has a power-retractable canopy that reveals a small cargo area.

At this year's Beijing motor show, Chery revealed the Tiggo V, which is a three-row SUV that can be turned into a quasi-ute by removing the rear canopy and rearmost row of seats.

Chery says up to six configurations will be available, including lifestyle-focused setups such as a camper conversion or enclosed cargo module.

Images in a South African patent filing have also revealed a new Chery model that resembles a mash-up between a small SUV and a ute, with what appears to be a removable rear section à la the Tiggo V.

MORE: Explore the Chery showroom