The Chery A3 is a

compact car Compact car is a vehicle size class — predominantly used in North America — that sits between subcompact cars and mid-size cars. "Small family car" is a British term and a part of the C-segment in the European car classification. However ...

built by the Chinese manufacturer Chery between 2008-2015, offered as a 4-door sedan and as a 5-door

hatchback A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...

with a 0.27cx. It was revealed for the first time as a concept car at the 2006 Beijing Motor Show and production car two years later which went on sale in September 2008. The car was designed by the Italian studio

Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian ...

. In South America, Eastern Europe and Oceania it is marketed numerous different names, including: Chery M11 (in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

), Chery Tengo (in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

and nearby countries), Chery Chance/Niche (in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

), Chery Cielo (in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

), Chery Skin/Skin Sport (in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

), Chery Orinoco (in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

), Chery Cruise (in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

) and Chery J3 (in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

Safety and equipment

The car comes in standard with driver and front passenger

airbag An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate extremely quickly, then quickly deflate during a collision. It consists of the airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. T ...

s and additionally it can offer side airbags and as well front and rear curtain airbags. Also standard equipment includes ABS and EBD and optional there is TCS. The body structure is made 40% of high strength steel sheet. Standard equipment also includes power steering, electric windows, air conditioning, 205/55 R16 tyres with aluminium alloy rims, remote central locking or cd/mp3-player. In December 2008, A3 received a five-star China-NCAP safety rating, becoming the first indigenous car to achieve such a high-test rating. The process consists in three different tests; 100% front crash test with a wall (like the U.S.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA ) is an agency of the U.S. federal government, part of the Department of Transportation. It describes its mission as "Save lives, prevent injuries, reduce vehicle-related crashes" relat ...

(NHTSA) test), a 40% offset test (like the

EuroNCAP The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a European voluntary car safety performance assessment programme (i.e. a New Car Assessment Program) based in Leuven (Belgium) formed in 1996, with the first results released in Februa ...

) and a side crash test like the EuroNCAP. The results of the A3 were 11,22 points in the 100% frontal crash test, 15.03 points in the 40% offset crash test and 16 points in the side crash test. Another Chinese car that received five stars in the testings was the

Roewe 550 The Roewe 550 is a compact car that is produced by Roewe in China, and was launched at the 2008 Beijing Motor Show. The 550 was reported to be derived from the MG Rover RDX60 project (itself based on the platform of the Rover 75) which was un ...

Reception

The Chery A3 is regarded as "a turning point for the Chinese automotive industry" for its understated yet original design, when at its release many Chinese cars used designs heavily borrowing from stablished foreign brands.

Europe

Rumors were raised in December 2010 that the car was about to be built at the struggling FSO plant in Poland, when a Chery A3 was spotted coming out of the factory's gates in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

and bearing a label marked with the FSO logo in the windscreen corner. However, Chery stated that it plans to export cars to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

only after 2015, though some of its products are already available in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

through the DR Motor brand. In March 2011, Belgrade Municipal police received a number of 15 Chery A3 vehicles (and two Tiggo), awarding the Chinese automaker as the winner in a bid where it reportedly competed against recognized brands from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. They are the first

law-enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...

body in Europe to drive Chinese manufactured vehicles, after the Chery brand already gained access to the governmental vehicle market in countries like

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Motorsport

The Chery Flying Star Rally Team is racing Chery A3 cars in the Chinese Rally Championship in the last seasons and from 2011 it entered the Chinese Touring Car Championship too with the A3.

Engines

Gallery

File:Chery Skin 1.6 GL 2011 (16340526023).jpg, Chery A3 4-door sedan File:2012 Chery J3 (M1X) hatchback (19661330934).jpg, Chery J3 5-door hatchback File:2012 Chery J3 (M1X) hatchback (20096035238).jpg, Chery J3 5-door hatchback