There were dealers who started to show an AP for the Omoda 9 (which can be seen on threads on here), so I doubt that came from nowhere. That said, having a dealer that can barely be bothered, whils’t also being condescending doesn’t tell you much either!
In reality, the 9 is really no quicker than the i5 AWD we had on the scheme, so for what reason, I dunner know mate.