Chery (other)

Chery Automobile Co. Ltd., trading as Chery (), is a Chinese automobile manufacturer and brand headquartered in Wuhu, Anhui, China, and owned by the Wuhu municipal government. Founded in 1997, it is currently the fifth largest automobile manufacturer group in China with 1,881,316 vehicles sold in 2023.

Chery was founded in 1997 by government officials of Wuhu city, which appointed Yin Tongyue, the current chairman as the company's first technical director. Chery launched its first car called the Fengyun in 1999 by using a licensed SEAT chassis. During its early years, Chery utilized technologies from other manufacturers, some were licensed and some others were acquired by reverse engineering. This practice led to a lawsuit in 2003 filed by General Motors alleging that Chery had copied the design of one of its cars. Chery has since developed and improved its own technologies. Since 2006, Chery has produced its own engines branded as ACTECO, which it also sells to other manufacturers.

The company started exporting cars from China since 2001, ahead of other Chinese manufacturers, and became the top exporter of Chinese brand passenger vehicles since 2003. The company exported 269,154 vehicles in 2021, 451,337 vehicles in 2022, and 937,148 vehicles in 2023, accounting for 52 percent of its overall sales. Chery invests more heavily in overseas markets than other Chinese manufacturers, and many of its vehicles are assembled outside China that use either complete or semi-complete knock-down kits.

Chery adopts a multi-brand strategy by establishing many car brands for different purposes. , the company has 8 active brands, including the main Chery brand (with Chery Fulwin and Chery New Energy sub-brands for plug-in hybrid and electric cars respectively), Exeed for premium vehicles, Luxeed as a collaborative electric car brand with Huawei, Jetour that focuses on SUVs, iCar for electric SUVs, Karry for commercial vehicles, and Omoda/ Jaecoo for export markets. The company also operates a joint venture with JLR since 2012 called Chery Jaguar Land Rover for the production of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles in China.

Name

Yin Tongyue, then a technical director proposed the name "Qirui" () in 1998, which means "unexpected and auspicious". Later, this name was romanised as Chery (initially "Cheery" during the 1999 brand launch). Other proposed names include "Jiuhua" () after the local Mount Jiuhua area, but the name was rejected by the Chinese industrial and commercial department because it was stipulated that trademarks cannot be registered with place names.

History

Early years

Chery was founded in 8 January 1997 as a state-owned enterprise by a group of officials from Wuhu city in Anhui province. The city officials appointed Yin Tongyue, the current Chery chairman as the company's technical director in 1996. Yin is from Anhui, and at that time was a manager in FAW, holding a position as a workshop director for the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture. The car project was formally incorporated on 18 March 1997 as Anhui Auto Parts Co., Ltd., with substantial funding from the Anhui provincial government, amounting to millions of yuan. The plan was to set up an engine production line and creating a components industry, before initiating car manufacturing operations.

Chery began automobile production in 1999 using a SEAT Toledo chassis licensed from Spanish manufacturer SEAT.Fairclough, G. (4 December 2007). "Accelerating growth: In china, chery automobile drives an industry shift; low costs, high output attract global partners; chrysler's leap of faith". ''The Wall Street Journal'', pp. A.1-A.1 Called the Fengyun, Chery's first car sold nearly 30,000 units. By 2002, Chery's production and sales exceeded 50,000 units, ranking among the "top eight" in the domestic passenger car industry. However, the company was only awarded a national passenger car production license in 2003, so while its first product rolled off the line in December 1999, it could not be legally sold outside the Anhui province for several years. During that period, Chery solved the problem by piggybacking on a SAIC Motor license until 2003. In this period, SAIC held a 20 percent share in Chery. Ownership was soon sold due to rising tensions between Chery and another SAIC partner General Motors, and political pressure from the SAIC management towards Anhui authorities.

Expansion period

In May 2003, Chery launched its smallest car, the QQ, which became popular due to its design and affordability. Despite its successful sales, it also received quality and durability complaints from owners. In June 2003, American manufacturer General Motors (GM) filed a widely publicised lawsuit against Chery, alleging that the design of the QQ copied the first-generation Daewoo Matiz, a vehicle developed by GM Daewoo. In late 2005, the lawsuit was settled out of court. GM was not the only manufacturer to have been exasperated with Chery; Volkswagen planned to file a lawsuit against Chery regarding the secret side deals it engaged with VW parts suppliers to produce the Chery Fengyun that resembled the Volkswagen Jetta. Volkswagen agreed to abstain from a planned lawsuit after Chery offered financial settlement out of court.Hessler, p. 65 These entrepreneurial risk-taking led '' The Wall Street Journal'' in 2007 to describe Chery's corporate culture as "an odd hybrid of Communist state enterprise and entrepreneurial start-up".

In December 2004, Chery entered an importation agreement with American company Visionary Vehicles, laying the groundwork to introduce five Chery models to US and Canada. Visionary Vehicles was owned by Malcolm Bricklin, widely known as the entrepreneur who brought Yugo cars to the US. Both companies hoped to sell 150,000 vehicles in the US by 2007. Investments were made to ensure compliance with safety regulations, and a dealership network was established across North America. Allegations of breach of contract by Chery and the legal disputes that followed in 2006 disrupted the collaboration between both companies, and Visionary Vehicles ended up winning a lawsuit it brought against Chery in 2013 to recoup losses from the failed deal.

Chery started improving its engineering capabilities, and launching other new products such as the Tiggo SUV and other models. In 2003, Chery started buying 1.4-litre Tritec petrol engines produced in Brazil and jointly developed by BMW and Chrysler. In 2005, the company used a Mitsubishi Motors engine for the Tiggo, which was widely used in the Chinese car industry at that time. Chery started producing its own engine branded as ACTECO since 2006. It is the result of a technical cooperation dating from 2003 with AVL, an Austrian engineering company. Starting 2008, Chery supplied ACTECO engines to Fiat, which used the 1.6- and 1.8-liter engines for the Fiat Linea.

The A3, introduced in August 2007, became a turning point of the brand. The sedan was styled by Pininfarina, and became the first Chinese-developed car to receive a 5-star rating in the China NCAP safety test.

In 2009, Chery produced 508,500 units, and at this time, it had an annual production capacity around 650,000 units. More than 400,000 of its 2009 sales were sedans. In that year, Yin Tongyue announced changes to the company's strategy to become a multi-brand carmaker by introducing three new brands: Karry, Rely, and Riich. Chery also renamed all its cars to Cowin followed by a number, except for the E5, QQ, and Tiggo. It also introduced the Fengyun 2 to replace the SEAT-based sedan. These changes are aimed to eliminate the low-budget image of Chery cars. Later its sprawling production policy and lineup became a problem for Chery. With over 100 new models in the works, Chery decided to cancel the Rely and Riich brands in the fall of 2012. Since then, Chery has entered an adjustment period of "returning to one Chery", and reduced its planned models to around 30.

Chery became the seventh-most productive Chinese vehicle manufacturer in 2010 by selling nearly 700,000 units. Slipping sales marked 2011 and 2012; in these years, the company produced more than 640,000 and near 590,000 units, respectively, and it moved from a seventh to a tenth-place ranking. The company in 2011 exported around 25% of its total production. In 2011, Chery built its first fully-owned manufacturing plant outside of China, located in Jacareí, Brazil. It went operational in 2014.

Since the late 2000s period, Chery also began to actively seek a partnership with foreign carmakers. Several possible tie-ups with both Chrysler and Fiat were explored, but fell through. In mid-2011, the company signed an agreement with Fuji Heavy Industries (currently Subaru Corporation) to establish a manufacturing joint venture in China, with a production site planned in Dalian, Liaoning. The planned joint venture failed to receive an approval from the Chinese government despite multiple attempts. Chery started partnering with Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in March 2012, which was looking to produce cars in China through a mandatory 50-50 joint venturer with a local company. The joint venture was formalised as Chery Jaguar Land Rover in November 2012. Its first product, a Range Rover Evoque rolled off the production line in October 2014 from the newly built plant in Changshu, Jiangsu. Chery also began manufacturing a revived version of the Moke under an agreement with JLR since 2013. Its design evokes the classic Mini Moke built from 1964 until 1993.

Chery was also involved with the establishment of Qoros, a joint venture formed in 2007 with Kenon Holdings based in Singapore and owned by Israeli investors, and started selling the Qoros 3 sedan in 2013. Qoros was sold off in 2018, and faced bankruptcy in 2022.

In 2014, Chery revived its multi-brand strategy by establishing Cowin as a separate brand, which is positioned as a low-budget offering. The brand was partially sold in 2018. Another brand that was established by Chery is Exeed, which is positioned in the premium segment. The brand was introduced in September 2017 at the International Motor Show Germany in Frankfurt by showcasing the TX concept vehicle. The first production model from Exeed was the Exeed TX/TXL mid-size SUV in March 2019. In January 2018, Chery introduced another brand called Jetour at an event in Beijing, which focuses on "value for money" mid-size SUVs and targets Chinese families living in tier-three and tier-four cities that travels often.

Chery started early in producing electric vehicles (EVs) by introducing its first EV in 2009, which is an electrified version of the original Chery QQ. The company established an EV division called Chery New Energy in 2010. Following this, Chery released the Chery eQ in 2014, an EV variant of the second-generation QQ, and later launched the eQ1 in 2016. The eQ1 went on sale in 2017, and became one of the most popular electric car in China until 2020, when rivals such as the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV became available. "The top 3 global best selling plug-in electric cars in 2021 were the Tesla Model 3 (500,713), the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV (424,138), and the Tesla Model Y (410,517). Nissan Leaf sales totaled 64,201 units and Chery eQ 68,821 units." In June 2021, Chery produced its 200,000th eQ1.

Rapid growth period

In 2021, Chery announced the "Double 50" strategic plan that aimed to export 500,000 vehicles and achieve an export revenue of US$5 billion by 2025. The company ended up surpassing the plan by a large margin by exporting 937,148 vehicles in 2023.

Chery attempted to enter the US for the second time in February 2020, when the company struck a deal with a California-based dealership group HAAH Automotive to sell Exeed and Chery Tiggo models in the country by 2022. The vehicles were planned be rebranded as Vantas and T-GO respectively, and would be assembled at an American plant using both domestic and imported parts. The plans were cancelled in mid-2021 as HAAH filed for bankruptcy.

The company started entering or reentering markets in this period. Chery resumed operations in South Africa in late 2021 after years of absence. In 2022, Chery entered the Mexican market as Chirey due to trademark reasons, as Malcolm Bricklin held the rights for the Chery name in North America. Other markets entered in 2022 included Malaysia, Indonesia, and Turkey. Chery re-entered the Australian market in 2023, after briefly selling cars there in the early 2010s. Its Exeed brand started sales in the Middle East in 2022.

In 2023, Chery launched four new brands and several new product lines. In April, it launched a new brand called iCar which mainly sells electric SUVs that targets young customers, and the Sterra electric product line (Exlantix for export markets) under its Exeed brand. The company also started a partnership Huawei under the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA), where Chery supplied HIMA with electric vehicles under the new Luxeed brand. Luxeed's first product is the Luxeed S7, which is the first car to have the Harmony OS 4 on board.

In April 2023, Chery also launched another two new brands in a ceremony held in Wuhu, Anhui called Omoda and Jaecoo. Both brands are only marketed outside China to support Chery's export strategy. The two brands combined (referred to as "O&J" brands) were targeted to reach annual global sales of 1,400,000 units by 2030 (not including China). Also in 2023, Chery also announced its new high-performance plug-in hybrid platform marketed as "Chery Dual Mode" (C-DM) to be introduced into most of its models. The plug-in hybrid system became available in Chery vehicles carrying the Fulwin sub-brand, Jetour vehicles under the Shanhai sub-brand, and Exeed vehicles.

In January 2024, Chery has signed strategic cooperation framework agreements with Nio to establish cooperation in battery standards, battery swapping technology, the construction of battery swapping service networks, and operation.

In March 2024, Chery fully acquired Soueast, a carmaker based in Fujian that was a subsidiary of Fujian Motors Group. The production facility of Soueast is used for producing Jetour brand vehicles.

In June 2024, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and Chery signed a letter of intent in electric vehicle cooperation. JLR will license the Freelander nameplate to Chery Jaguar Land Rover to produce EVs based on an Exeed EV platform called the E0X. Freelander as a brand will be separate from JLR's 'House of Brands' portfolio or Chery's brand line-up. Freelander vehicles will be sold in China, with plans for global exports.

Operations

Chery's main production base in mainland China is located in Anhui. As of 2007, the company had two auto-making production bases, two engine-making facilities, and a transmission production plant. Another car-making production base located in Dalian, Liaoning province, became operational in 2012.

Research and development

Chery invests around 7% of its total sales in research and development, and, as of 2011, had over 4,000 patents. It has R&D facilities in Wuhu, Anhui province, and Changshu, Jiangsu province. Chery has cooperative agreements with many foreign component firms, including the American ArvinMeritor, American Autoliv, American Delphi Automotive, the Australian company Futuris, German Robert Bosch GmbH, American PPG Industries, German Siemens VDO, French Valeo, and the American Visteon. Some have helped Chery establish a local supply chain.

Chery established a R&D center at Raunheim, Germany near Frankfurt in 2018, which went operational in 2019 under Chery Europe GmbH. The facility employed around 30 to 50 people in its initial phase. In early 2024, Chery announced the expansion of the R&D center in Raunheim and will double the number of employees at the center to 120 by the end of 2024. The facility has gradually grown into one of Chery's most important R&D and design bases over the past five years.

Design

In 2012, Chery hired former General Motors designer James Hope. Former Porsche designer Hakan Saracoglu joined Chery's design team in 2013. Saracoglu reshaped and guided the brand's design direction, steering it away from the budget perception associated with its popular Chery QQ. In 2018, former Mazda Europe design director Kevin Rice joined Chery to lead its design centre in Raunheim, Germany. Rice left the company in 2020 to join Pininfarina in Turin, Italy, and his position was replaced by Steve Eum that hailed from General Motors and joined Chery in 2017.

, Chery has six design centres, including one in Wuhu, two in Shanghai, and another in Raunheim, Germany.

Overseas markets

Chery has been the largest Chinese automobile exporter. The company started its export operations well ahead of other Chinese manufacturers, making its first export to the Middle East as early as 2001. It became China's largest car exporter since 2003, except in 2022 when SAIC Motor briefly took the position. , Chery has been exporting cars to more than 80 countries and regions, with a total export volume of more than 1.7 million vehicles. Russia, South America and the Middle East are its key export markets.

Chery's export business started in October 2001 when a car dealership owner from Syria spotted a Chery car on the streets of Beijing, catching his interest. Following numerous inquiries, he learned that this car was the recently released first-generation Fengyun/Fulwin sedan from Chery. The dealer promptly visited Chery's headquarters in Anhui, aiming to meet current chairman Yin Tongyue, at that time an executive deputy general manager to discuss potential export collaboration. Eventually, Yin agreed to export 10 cars as a trial, which marks the beginning of Chery's venture into overseas markets. Subsequently, Chery started exporting cars in larger volumes to other regions. Prior to 2012, unlike most larger Chinese carmakers, Chery lacked a joint venture with any foreign manufacturer. A 2009 report by the US Congressional Research Service asserted that such joint ventures usually restrained overseas sales.

In the following two decades, Chery's annual export sales remained at around 100,000 to 150,000 vehicles until a surge occurred in the early 2020s. From 2020 to 2023, Chery's export business experienced rapid growth, doubling to 937,100 vehicles in 2023 compared to the previous year, constituting 52 percent of its total sales. In that year, Chery ranks first in the export volume among Chinese automobile manufacturers, surpassing SAIC Motor's passenger cars division that held the position in 2022. Its overseas ventures were reported to be more lucrative than its domestic operations due to the larger margin per vehicle, with a significant portion of the over 30 billion yuan profit in 2022 coming from international markets.

Chery claims to be the first Chinese manufacturer to export complete vehicles, CKD components, engines, and complete vehicle manufacturing technology and equipment abroad. , Chery has 10 production bases overseas which produces either complete or semi-complete knock-down kits, mainly in South America, the Middle East and Russia, and has been expanding to Southeast Asia and Europe.

Americas

Brazil

Chery has a production base in Jacareí, Brazil, that began construction in July 2011, in a joint effort with the government of the state of São Paulo. The plant began operating in August 2014, with a first-phase production capacity of 50,000 units per year. In phase two, the plant would achieve an annual production capacity of 150,000 units. The models produced there was the hybrid-powered Celer (since October 2014), the QQ (since the second half of 2015), Tiggo 2 (since mid-2017) and Arrizo 5 (since October 2018).

In 2017, Grupo Caoa bought 51% of the company for US$60 million, renaming it to Caoa Chery. Caoa has been producing the Tiggo 4 in Anápolis, Goiás in knock-down kit form since November 2018. Between 2018 and 2023, the plant had produced the Arrizo 5, Arrizo 6, Tiggo 2, Tiggo 3x, Tiggo 5x, Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8, totaling around 146,921 vehicles. In August 2023, Caoa announced a R$3 billion investment in the Anápolis facility to expand and modernize the plant. It resulted in the opening of a second production shift in January 2024, which created 1,357 new jobs in total.

In 2024, Chery will enter the Brazilian market independently without Caoa by using three brands: Omoda, Jaecoo, and Exeed. The company also plans reactivate the Jacareí plant to produce cars from the three brands, which is currently owned by Caoa Chery and sat dormant since February 2022.

Mexico

In 2022, Chery entered the Mexican market as Chirey. The reason for the alternate Chirey name was due to American businessman Malcolm Bricklin owning the Chery trademark in North America, due to his plan to import Chery vehicles to the US and Canada in the 2000s.

In May 2023, Chery introduced Omoda as its second brand in the country. The Chirey Omoda 5 was renamed the Omoda C5. Omoda will open 70 dealers across the country that will be shared with the upcoming Jaecoo brand.

Uruguay

Between 2007 and 2015, the Argentinian company SOCMA Group manufactured Chery vehicles in the Oferol factory in Barra de Carrasco, Canelones, Uruguay. The Tiggo was officially launched in Uruguay in October 2007. The plant was permanently closed as of May 2015.

Venezuela

First introduced to this country in mid-2006, Chery vehicles continued to be the only licensed Chinese car exports to Venezuela as of 2011, according to the company. Opened in September 2011, a new Chery production site in the north-central state of Aragua, owned by the ZGT joint venture, produces the A1 and A3 models.

Asia-Pacific

Australia

Chery vehicles first entered Australia in 2011, brought in by Australian distributor Ateco. Several models was introduced, including the J1, J3 hatchback and J11 SUV. The J1 became the cheapest car on sale in the country during its introduction at . In August 2012, Ateco recalled 2,250 Chery vehicles after the cars' engine and exhaust gaskets were found to contain asbestos. Ateco ended sales of Chery vehicles in 2015, citing Chery's shifting focus to its home market and communication difficulties with the headquarters.

The brand re-entered Australia in 2023 under a subsidiary owned directly by Chery. The first model it introduced is the Chery Omoda 5, which started deliveries in March 2023. In that year, the brand sold 5,890 vehicles in the market.

Indonesia

Chery models was assembled from knock-down kits and sold in Indonesia since 2006 until 2011 by Indomobil Group. Indomobil ended sales of Chery in 2011 due to low sales and recurring quality issues. In 2022, the brand returned to Indonesia under direct factory-backed operations, and contracted PT Handal Motor Indonesia to assemble Chery vehicles in the country since late 2022. Chery plans to export vehicles from Indonesia to the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand in 2024.

Iran

In 2003, Chery signed CKD (completely knock down) agreements with Iran's SKT Company and Modiran Vehicle Manufacturing Company, which involved a factory construction to assemble vehicles in the form of complete parts, which has lower tariffs than directly importing complete vehicles. Manufacture from kits in Iran began in 2004. In late 2007, Chery stated that it held a minority ownership in a joint venture with Iranian Khodro and Canadian Solitac as its partners. This JV controlled a knock-down factory in Babol, Mazandaran.

Malaysia

In 2006, local manufacturer Proton considered producing an MPV and an SUV model together with Chery in Malaysia, which are reported as the Chery V5 and Chery Tiggo respectively.

By 2008, a factory assembling Chery models from kits opened in Johor Bahru, Johor through a 50-50 joint venture between local company Alado Corp Sdn Bhd and Chery.Bursa, M. (2009). "ASEAN automotive market review: Management briefing; Manufacturer activity". ''Just-Auto News''. Bromsgrove, United Kingdom, Bromsgrove Its first model was the Chery Eastar MPV, originally the V5 in China. In 2012, Chery planned another factory that was expected to be built and operational in Malaysia by 2015.

In 2023, the brand returned to Malaysia under direct factory-backed operations, and assembled vehicles at Inokom's facility in Kulim, Kedah since August 2023. In 2024, Chery Malaysia announced that it will build a fully-owned plant in Shah Alam to complement production at Kulim.

Pakistan

Chery has entered into a manufacturing and licensing agreement with Ghandhara Nissan of Pakistan. The assembly of Chery SUVs in Pakistan commenced on 31 March 2022.

Taiwan

The Chery A3 was assembled since August 2009 in Taichung, Taiwan, by Shengrong Auto, a subsidiary of Prince Motors (), a Taiwanese car company.

Europe

Italy

Since November 2007, Chery partners with DR Motor, a subsidiary of DR Automobiles Group to assemble and distribute Chery vehicles in Italy under the DR brand. According to a Chery representative, the company chose not to enter the European market directly at that time since the European Union is a "sensitive" market and "we shall only consider entering the region when all conditions permit". Some Chery vehicles are assembled at a facility in Macchia d'Isernia to be sold as DR Automobiles vehicles. The original Chery Tiggo was marketed as the DR5, while the Riich M1 became the DR1. Later DR Automobiles added models developed by JAC and BAIC. In 2022, DR Automobiles added a more "premium" brand called Sportequipe, which are also rebranded Chery vehicles. In February 2023, DR Automobiles started selling its first electric vehicle, the DR 1.0, a rebranded Chery eQ1.

Chery will enter Italy directly and separately from DR Automobiles by selling two brands, Omoda and Jaecoo by the third quarter of 2024.

Spain

Chery first entered the Spanish market in March 2024, introducing the Omoda 5 and Omoda E5 under the Omoda brand.

In April 2024, Chery signed a joint venture deal with Spanish company EV Motors to build cars in a former Nissan factory in Barcelona, Spain. Nissan ended production in the plant in 2021, before handing the facility over to Spanish electric motorcycle maker Silence and local engineering groups QEV and EV Motors. Chery will start producing its Omoda vehicles at the plant first, while EV Motors will produce its own vehicles starting in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Rest of Western Europe

Chery plans to launch three brands in core European markets by 2026, with each brand launching three new models. Two brands, Omoda and Jaecoo will be launched first in 2024, while the luxury brand Exlantix (sub-brand of Exeed) will be launched in 2025.

Russia

Chery entered the Russian market in 2005. Avtotor produced Chery models from kits from 2006 to 2008. TagAZ also produced Chery vehicles, from 2008 to 2014, but these usually carried non-Chery badges such as "Vortex". In 2020, Chery started selling Exeed vehicles in Russia.

As a result of Western, South Korean and Japanese manufacturers leaving Russia due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Chery reported massive sales growth in Russia. In 2023, Chery was second only to the local Russian brand Lada with annual sales of 119,000 vehicles with a local market share of 11.2 percent, accounting for 20 percent of Chery's overseas sales.

In 2024, local manufacturer AvtoVAZ will produce the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Max at a former Nissan assembly plant, now rebranded as the Xcite X-Cross 7. Despite this local production, the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Max will still be available in the Russian market as imports from China, and sold through Chery dealerships.

Turkey

In October 2009, Chery announced plans for an assembly plant in Turkey to be built in cooperation with the Turkish carmaker Mermerler Otomotiv at a cost of $500 million. The plant is planned to have an initial capacity of 20,000 units per year, rising to 100,000 by 2017. As of 2012, the plant has yet to commence production.

Chery re-entered Turkey in late 2022 under its own direct investment, and started sales in March 2023 with three models, the Omoda 5, Tiggo 7 Pro and Tiggo 8 Pro. In its first year of sales, Chery was able to sell 40,590 vehicles in the country, ahead of many established brands.

Ukraine

Chery had a partnership with ZAZ since 2006 and manufactured cars from kits at sites in Zaporizhzhia and Chornomorsk. Since February 2011, the Chery A13 has been manufactured in Ukraine, where it is rebadged and sold in the country as a ZAZ Forza.

Africa

Egypt

Assembly of Chery cars from complete knock-down kits began in Egypt in 2004 according to the company itself, but news reports indicate that it only expressed initial interest in doing so that year. As of 2011, some Chery models were sold in the country under the brand name Speranza. One Egyptian factory making Chery models from semi-complete knock-down kits had a 2009 production capacity of 30,000 vehicles/year.

In 2011, Chery stated the parts localization ratio for Egypt was 45%.

South Africa

Chery started sales in South Africa in 2008 backed by Bidvest and Imperial local dealership companies. Several vehicles that was introduced include the QQ, QQ3, the J2 and J3 hatchbacks, and Tiggo TX. Chery left the market in 2018, and re-entered in 2022. By 2023, it is the sixth best-selling brand in the country. In April 2023, Chery introduced its Omoda brand in South Africa as a more "premium" offering. It will add the Jaecoo brand in 2024.

Products and brands

Chery

Sedan

* Chery Arrizo 8 (2022–present), mid-size sedan
* Chery Arrizo 5 Plus (2018–present), compact sedan
** Chery Arrizo 5 GT (2022–present), variant of Arrizo 5 Plus
* Chery Arrizo 5 (2016–present), subcompact sedan

File:Chery Arrizo 8 004 (cropped).jpg, Chery Arrizo 8
File:Chery Arrizo 5 Plus Ozawa 001 (cropped).jpg, Chery Arrizo 5 Plus
File:2018 Chery Arrizo 5, front 8.5.18.jpg, Chery Arrizo 5

SUV

* Chery Tiggo 9 (2023–present), mid-size SUV
* Chery Tiggo 8 (2018–present), mid-size SUV
** Chery Tiggo 8 L (2024–present), enlarged variant of Tiggo 8
** Chery Tiggo 8 C-DM (to commence), PHEV variant of Tiggo 8
* Chery Tiggo 7 (2016–present), compact SUV
* Chery Tansuo 06 (2023–present), compact SUV
** Chery Tansuo 06 C-DM (2024–present), PHEV variant of Tansuo 06
* Chery Omoda 5 (2022–present), compact SUV
** Chery Omoda E5 (2023–present), export-only EV variant of Omoda 5
* Chery Tiggo 5x (2017–present), subcompact SUV
* Chery Tiggo 3x (2016–present), subcompact SUV

File:2023 Chery Tiggo 9.jpg, Chery Tiggo 9
File:2023 Chery Tiggo 8 Pro PHEV.jpg, Chery Tiggo 8 Pro
File:2021 Chery Tiggo 7 Plus.jpg, Chery Tiggo 7 Plus
File:2020 Chery Tiggo 5X (facelift, front).jpg, Chery Tiggo 5x
File:Chery Explore 06 001.jpg, Chery Tansuo 06
File:Chery Omoda 5 012.jpg, Chery Omoda 5

Chery Fulwin

Chery Fulwin () is a product line of Chery established in November 2023 to market plug-in hybrid vehicles. Most Fulwin vehicles are based on Chery petrol vehicles with an additional plug-in hybrid system marketed as Kunpeng Super Performance Electric Hybrid C-DM. Chery Fulwin vehicles are distributed through separate dealership network.

Chery Fulwin products will be divided into three series: A, T and M, representing sedan, SUV and MPV categories respectively. Extended-range electric and battery electric vehicles are also planned. Its first model, the Fulwin A8 sedan was available to pre-sale in December 2023.

The Fulwin/Fengyun name was a model name used by Chery several times in the past, starting from the Fengyun sedan in 1999.

Products

* Chery Fulwin A9 (upcoming), PHEV mid-size sedan
* Chery Fulwin A8 / A8 Pro (2024–present), PHEV variant of Arrizo 8
* Chery Fulwin T11 (upcoming), PHEV mid-size SUV
* Chery Fulwin T10 (2024–present), PHEV variant of Tiggo 9
* Chery Fulwin T9 (2024–present), PHEV variant of Tiggo 8 L
* Chery Fulwin T8 (upcoming), PHEV variant of Tiggo 8
* Chery Fulwin T6 (2024–present), PHEV variant of Tansuo 06

File:Chery Fulwin A8 001.jpg, Chery Fulwin A8
File:Chery Fulwin A9 001.jpg, Chery Fulwin A9

Chery New Energy

Chery New Energy () is a subsidiary of Chery established in April 2010 to produce and market electric vehicles.

Products

* Chery eQ7 (2023–present), compact SUV
* Chery eQ1 (2017–present), city car
* Chery Wujie Pro (2022–present), city car
* Chery QQ Ice Cream (2021–present), city car

File:Chery QQ Ice Cream IMG01.jpg, Chery QQ Ice Cream
File:2022 Chery eQ1 (facelift, front).jpg, Chery eQ1
File:2022 Chery Wujie Pro (front).jpg, Chery Wujie Pro
File:2023 Chery EQ7.jpg, Chery eQ7

Exeed

Exeed () is Chery's premium brand for passenger vehicles, introduced in September 2017.

File:Exeed Lanyue 003.jpg, Exeed VX
File:Exeed Yaoguang C-DM 001.jpg, Exeed Yaoguang
File:Exeed Sterra ES 001.jpg, Exeed Sterra ES

Jetour

Jetour () is Chery's SUV brand launched in 2018. The brand mainly produces mid-size crossovers and SUVs, targeting Chinese families living in tier-three and tier-four cities that travels often.

File:Jetour X70 Plus facelift 001.jpg, Jetour X70 Plus
File:Jetour Dasheng 001.jpg, Jetour Dashing
File:Jetour Traveller 003.jpg, Jetour Traveller

iCar

iCar is Chery's EV brand targeting at young customers, launched in April 2023. According to Chery, the brand targets younger people aged 25–35 who are pursuing new careers. iCar started sales of its first vehicle, the iCar 03 SUV in February 2024.

File:ICAR 03 001.jpg, iCar 03
File:ICAR GT 001.jpg, iCar GT
File:2024 iCar V23 (China) front view.png, iCar V23

Luxeed

Luxeed is Chery's premium EV brand in cooperation with Huawei. The first car, a premium electric executive sedan unveiled in November 9, 2023, and would be the first car to have the Harmony OS 4 system on board.
File:Luxeed S7 005.jpg, Luxeed S7

Karry Auto

Karry Auto is a Chinese market only brand founded by Chery in 2009. It specialises in the production of light commercial vehicles and people carriers for passenger transport. Some of the products created for Karry are marketed overseas under different marques by Chery.
File:Karry Jiangtun IMG01.jpg, Karry Porpoise
File:Karry Dolphin IMG010.jpg, Karry Dolphin

Overseas brands

Chery has two brands that are only used in overseas markets, which are Omoda and Jaecoo. The two brands were introduced in April 2023 in an international dealerships and journalists convention in Wuhu, Anhui, although Omoda has been selling vehicles in Russia since 2022. For these export brands, Chery established a separate company in China called Anhui Omoda Jaecoo Automobile Co., Ltd. as its sales company.

File:2023 Omoda C5 front view.png, Omoda C5
File:Jaecoo J7.jpg, Jaecoo J7

Former brands

Riich

The Riich brand was discontinued in 2012.

Engines

The company produces and exported engines under the brands ACTECO and CAC. Chery engines have been bought by Fiat and exported to the US.

Partnerships

In 2007, Chrysler planned a cooperation with Chery that would have seen the Chery A1 sold as a Dodge-brand car in the US and abroad. The plan would have quickly increased the Chrysler small car stable, and the two companies participated in a signing ceremony in late 2007. In early 2008, a similar deal was reached between Chrysler and Nissan, however, and the Chrysler-Chery cooperation was abandoned. Around the time of the 2009 Chrysler Chapter 11 reorganization, Chrysler discussed the possibility of an asset sale with Chery, but this also fell through. In the same year, Fiat and Chery signed a memorandum of understanding for the creation of a car-making joint venture. Intended to begin operations in 2009, it was to manufacture Fiat and Alfa Romeo-branded products for the Chinese market and be located in Wuhu. The deal was put on hold in March 2009. Since 2011, Fiat produced cars in China with local partner GAC Group.

In May 2011, Chery and Fuji Heavy Industries (currently Subaru Corporation) had an agreement to establish a joint venture to manufacture Subaru vehicles in China. The plan was to establish a 30 billion yen plant in Dalian with initial annual capacity of 50,000 cars, that would expand to 150,000 units. Subaru vehicles has been imported to China since 2004. The joint venture proposal was rejected by the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission by September 2011, as the major shareholder of Fuji Heavy Industries, Toyota already has two joint ventures in China, which is the maximum amount allowed. Later in May 2012, the proposal was rejected for the second time due to production overcapacity in the country.

Chery and Kenon Holdings, a company based in Singapore and owned by Israeli investors, established a car brand called Qoros in 2007.

The company also has automotive component-manufacturing joint ventures with Arvin Meritor, Johnson Controls, and PPG Industries.

In 2020, there were plans for Chinese auto maker Chery to buy a percentage of Tata Motors in order for Chery to gain entry into the Indian market and in order for Tata Motors to get technology for cars such as the proposed Tata Blackbird. However, due to COVID-19 pandemic and the continuing political tensions over the Chinese/Indian border, reports indicated that it is highly unlikely that these plans will go ahead.

Joint ventures

Chery Jaguar Land Rover

In March 2012, Chery and the UK-based luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) agreed to invest an initial US$2.78 billion in a new China-based joint venture that will sell and manufacture Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles and engines, as well as establish a research and development facility. It is the first JLR facility outside the UK that engages in full-scale production operations. The joint venture received regulatory approval in September 2012. A production base was built in Changshu, a county-level city close to Shanghai. The first Chinese-made Range Rover Evoque rolled off the production line on 21 October 2014 from Chery Jaguar Land Rover's plant in Changshu, Jiangsu.

Qoros

Qoros was founded as a joint venture between Chery and Israel Corporation in 50:50 in December 2007 under the name Chery Quantum Automotive Corporation (CQAC), which later renamed to Qoros Auto in November 2011.

In January 2021, Baoneng Group took over 63% of the shares in Qoros, leaving Chery with 25% and Kenon Holdings with just 12%.

Motorsport

In 2010 and 2011, Chery competed in the Dakar Rally. Four cars that participated in the rally are two Rely X5 race SUVs, one X5 lead car and one Rely H5 support vehicle for emergency situations.

Sales

Controversies

Copying claims

In June 2003, American manufacturer General Motors sued Chery accusing it of copying the first generation Daewoo Matiz (developed by a GM subsidiary, GM Daewoo) in its design for the Chery QQ. General Motors also claimed a disguised Matiz was used in a crash test in place of the Chery car.

GM executives claimed design duplication with many parts interchangeable between the QQ and the Matiz, and GM China Group stated the two vehicles, "shared remarkably identical body structure, exterior design, interior design and key components."

While some Chery cars are not copies, such as the Pininfarina-designed A3, the QQ may not be the sole Chery model that wears famous-name designs; the Chery Tiggo is criticised for resembling the second generation Toyota RAV4. Other model using the Matiz technology found in the QQ include the closely related QQ6. The Eastar and its derivatives (V4, B12, and B22) have also been considered to be copies of the Daewoo Magnus.

After mediation attempts failed, then-GM Daewoo (now known as GM Korea) brought a case against Chery in a Shanghai court, but by 2005 jurisdiction had been moved to the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court. Around that time Chinese state officials, including a vice-minister of commerce and a vice-director of the State Intellectual Property Office, publicly supported Chery. The Chinese have claimed that GM did not properly patent their technology. In late 2005 the lawsuit was settled.

See also

* Automobile manufacturers and brands of China
* List of automobile manufacturers of China
* Automotive industry in China

References

External links

Official international website

Official China website

{{Authority control

Truck manufacturers of China
Government-owned companies of China
Electric vehicle manufacturers of China
Companies based in Wuhu
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1997
Chinese companies established in 1997
Chinese brands
Car brands