OMODA Fashion Night Was Not a Car Launch. It Just Happened to Have Cars.

About 300 people walked into an event in the UAE expecting something automotive. What they got was couture, a walking robot, two new vehicles and a brand making a very loud argument about what it thinks it is.

OMODA held its Fashion Night in the UAE recently and the whole thing was designed to make one point repeatedly. This is not a car company that does fashion adjacent marketing. This is a lifestyle brand that also makes cars. Whether you buy that argument depends on what you saw in the room. The people who were there seem to have bought it.

The Brand Is Serious About the UAE

Mark Ma runs Chery Middle East as Deputy General Manager and he was clear that night about where the UAE sits in OMODA’s thinking.

Not just another market. A strategic hub. The kind of place where the brand wants to establish something real rather than move units and move on.

The customer OMODA is chasing here has a name internally. The LOHAS community. People who think about lifestyle and sustainability and technology and design not as separate boxes to tick but as one connected way of living. Ma said that night that OMODA is not in the UAE to sell cars. It is there to deliver intelligent mobility solutions that make daily life better. That sounds like a press release until you look at what the brand actually brought with it. Internet of Vehicles technology, advanced driver assistance systems, smart cockpit upgrades built specifically for city driving in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The infrastructure matches the claim which is not always the case.

The C7 Is the Vehicle Everyone Was There For

OMODA officially launched the C7 in the UAE that evening and it is a serious piece of work.

Neo Crossover SUV is what OMODA calls it. Sculpted lines, premium detailing, a body that reads confident rather than aggressive. The Art in Motion design language the brand talks about shows up in the C7 in ways you can actually see rather than just read about in a brochure. Inside the cabin is quiet, premium materials throughout, space that feels considered rather than just adequate, advanced configurations that make the whole environment feel more like a designed room than a car interior.

Two engines. The petrol option is a 1.6 litre TGDI with a 7 speed dual clutch transmission. 197 horsepower, 290Nm torque. Starts at Dh88,900.

The Super Hybrid System is the one that gets attention. 1.5 litre turbocharged engine with hybrid transmission. 347 horsepower, 515Nm torque, 95 kilometres of pure electric range. Starts at Dh114,900.

Early bookings get Dh4,000 back on either variant. That window will not stay open forever.

The C5 SHS Was Also There

Alongside the C7, OMODA showed the refreshed C5 SHS. Turbocharged hybrid, responsive acceleration, strong fuel economy, built for urban movement in a tighter more agile package than the C7.

The two vehicles together cover the same buyer profile from different angles. Someone who wants something compact and sharp gets the C5. Someone who wants more presence and more performance gets the C7. Both running the same design language and the same technology philosophy.

The Robot and the Couture

This is the part people will remember.

Models walked the floor in couture inspired by OMODA’s design language. Alongside them was the AiMOGA robot, moving through the same space, part of the same presentation. Fashion and technology sharing a floor with a crossover SUV and somehow it worked.

The point was not subtle. Technology should feel tangible. It should be something you experience rather than just something listed in a spec sheet. Putting a robot on a fashion floor next to couture designers next to a car is a very specific way of saying that and it landed differently than a slide deck would have.

London Fashion Week Is Next

OMODA is going to London Fashion Week 2026.

That sentence deserves to sit alone for a second because it is not something a standard automotive brand does. London Fashion Week is not a motor show. Showing up there as a car brand means fully committing to the idea that you belong in conversations about design and culture that have nothing to do with engine specifications.

OMODA is committing. After what happened at Fashion Night in the UAE, that commitment does not read as overreach. It reads as the logical next step for a brand that has been making this argument consistently and backing it up with actual products.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

What actually happened at OMODA Fashion Night?

A brand event in the UAE combining vehicle launches with fashion, couture, robotics and lifestyle positioning. Around 300 media, influencers and automotive experts attended.

What is the OMODA C7 and what does it cost?

A next generation crossover SUV available in two variants. Petrol starts at Dh88,900. Super Hybrid System starts at Dh114,900. Early bookings get Dh4,000 back on both.

What are the engine specs on the C7?

Petrol: 1.6 litre TGDI, 7 speed dual clutch, 197 horsepower, 290Nm. Super Hybrid: 1.5 litre turbocharged with hybrid transmission, 347 horsepower, 515Nm, 95km electric range.

What is the C5 SHS?

A refreshed sporty crossover with a turbocharged hybrid engine. More compact than the C7, built for agile urban driving with strong fuel economy.

What is the LOHAS community?

The consumer profile OMODA targets. People who treat lifestyle, sustainability, technology and design as connected values rather than separate priorities.

What was the AiMOGA robot doing at a fashion event?

Walking alongside couture models to demonstrate OMODA’s philosophy that technology should be tangible and experiential rather than just a spec sheet item.

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