Chery Auto is bucking the trend and doing very well in the Chinese market while rival state-run OEMs flounder. Its secret? The new Jetour brand, soon be joined by another, Exeed. This report examines the model ranges and looks at future vehicles for the Chery, Cowin and Karry divisions too.
A year-on-year gain of 11% was more than enough to see Chery setting a new record in 2018 with sales of 752,759 units. Moreover, the company continued to be a leading exporter amongst Chinese brands, sending 126,993 vehicles to countries outside China, an annual gain of 18%. This year has been disappointing by comparison, at least at home, although with wholesales of 90,865, its YoY dip is only 3.3% and therefore way less than most state-run rivals. The tally for the first quarter means it was in 19th place below Dongfeng (99,462, -40%) and above GAC Trumpchi (88,868, -41%).
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By GlobalDataJetour
One fact speaks volumes about the X70 and the new Jetour brand: this SUV was Chery Auto’s best selling vehicle in March. JETOUR is across the X70’s grille and tailgate and its Chinese name is Jietu. This can be translated as ‘Victory Lane’. The division has only been in existence since 2018 but already it is a big success. The X70 should remain in production until 2025 after a facelift in the first quarter of 2022.
The larger X90 joined the X70 in March and got off to a strong start with 1,800 wholesale deliveries in its first month. Both these SUVs are based on Chery Auto’s T1X architecture which is front- and all-wheel drive.
After the X70 and X90 will come the X95. This big SUV is based on the X90 but is longer. Its world debut was at the Shanghai auto show early in April. Series production should commence in September.
Chery has ambitious plans for Jetour. Its model strategy, announced in January 2018, is termed ‘4+3+N’. This means four SUVs (X60, X70/S, X90, X95), three MPVs (V60, V70, V90) plus New Energy (EV and PHEV) versions of the seven vehicles. In addition, a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain will also appear at a later, unspecified date.
Cowin
Formerly a sub-brand for Chery vehicles, Cowin became a division in its own right but is struggling lately and is down to three models. None of these is selling in four figures monthly, although each experienced a spectacular year-on-year improvement in March. Also, there are plans to add another vehicle to the line-up towards the end of 2019 so Cowin may not necessarily disappear, as some say it could.
The E3 is a 4,450mm long sedan. While March deliveries were well under 1,000 units (629), the total was up by 162% year on year. This model has been around since September 2013. There was a facelift in September 2017. This was also when it changed brands. The successor should be launched in 2020.
Cowin also has three SUVs, the smallest of which is the X3. Its wholesale deliveries total was not dissimilar to that of the E3 in March, the total of 634 units being a YoY rise of 82%.
The X3 is based upon 2014’s Cowin i-CX concept. This 4.6m long crossover went on sale in China during March 2016. Both 1.5- and 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engines are available and the seating layout is 2+2+3. The Karry K60 is closely related to this model. Expect a facelift in the final quarter of this year and a replacement in 2023.
Cowin’s best seller last month was the X5 (756,+90%). This SUV, revealed at the Shanghai auto show in April 2017, is the former Chery Tiggo 5 with different badges. There should be a facelift in 2020 and a replacement in 2023.
The X7 will be another SUV. Expected to be based on the same architecture as the X3, it should be released for sale in the fourth quarter of this year.
Exeed
Another brand was added to Chery’s portfolio at the start of this year, although production of Exeed’s first and so far only model is ramping up slowly. The TX is a 4,690mm long SUV revealed as a prototype at the Frankfurt IAA in September 2017. That concept was codenamed M31T and its architecture is M3X.
The platform is said to have been “developed from scratch specifically for the new model line and to accommodate electrified powertrains”. Chery notes that it was designed and engineered in conjunction with Germany’s Benteler.
As for the model’s all-wheel-drive system, this was co-engineered with Dana and BorgWarner, the transmissions are supplied by Getrag, while Valeo supplies “various technologies, such as the clutch and advanced driver assist systems”. Meanwhile, Bosch provides the vehicle’s 10-inch TFT head unit and 7-inch TFT cluster display. The German Tier 1 is also responsible for various safety and engine management components.
Chery further notes that the LED head lamp and rear lamp units were developed by Hella, while Continental Automotive provides the Body Control Module (BCM) and “Gateway applications” to support the vehicle’s electronic architecture. Continental also supplies the tyres.
This model entered Chinese dealerships in March. Chery says the TX will eventually be available in Europe too. There, it will come with three electrified powertrains: hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric. The first to go on sale will be the PHEV variant which combines a 110kW 1.5-litre petrol engine with an 85kW motor. It will have all-wheel-drive and a seven-speed “hybrid drive” transmission.
Karry
This division is one which mostly sells light commercials. There are however two passenger models, though neither sells in high volume.
The K50 is a small minivan targeted at buyers in China’s smaller cities. It is 4,450 mm long, 1,760 mm wide and 1,790 mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,755 mm. In theory, a replacement model should be released in 2022 but Chery may instead wind down this brand later this year or in 2020.
The brand’s only passenger vehicle is the K60, an SUV-MPV crossover which is closely related to the former Cowin V3. Having gone on sale in China during November 2016, the K60 comes in five, six and seven-seater forms. In theory, there should be a facelift in 2020 and a successor in 2023. These may not happen though.
Chery
The Tiggo 3 is a small SUV which, for reasons unknown, has been in production for fourteen years. The Tiggo 3X is a different model. It has only been around since 2016 and serves as the eventual replacement for the Tiggo 3, which should be phased out in the coming months.
The second generation Tiggo 5 went on sale in China during November 2013. It isn’t that much larger than the Tiggo 3 and Tiggo 3X. The successor should appear in 2021.
There is no 6 but there is a Tiggo 7: it is a 4,505mm long SUV powered by 1.5- and 2.0-litre petrol engines. Sales in China commenced in September 2016. This model has not had much success so seems likely to be phased out later in 2019.
The Tiggo 8 is the Chery brand’s best seller. In March, the wholesale deliveries total was 9,035 units. This long-delayed SUV, launched in May 2018, had been previewed by the Chery Beta 5 concept at April 2013’s Shanghai motor show. The next generation model is still six or more years away, so expect a facelift in the second half of 2021.
The QQ is an aged A segment five-door hatchback. Sales have been falling recently, with just 192 sold cars in March, a drop of 76%. This model will probably be phased out later in 2019.
The eQ, also known as the eQ1, is a QQ-based plug-in five-door hatchback. This little EV went on sale in certain Chinese cities from early 2016. Production was originally at a plant in Chery Auto’s home city of Wuhu but in May 2017 the company opened a new factory especially for EVs in Dezhou (Shandong province). The eQ became the first vehicle to be made at this factory, which had an initial annual capacity of 100,000 vehicles.
The reason for the model name change was a dispute with Daimler. The German company and Chery eventually agreed that Mercedes-Benz electric models could use ‘EQ’ plus a letter, that future PHEVs would have an EQ Power badge, and that Chery electric vehicles would be called eQ and have a numerical suffix, and be collectively grouped as EQ Tec. An additional variant was added in July 2018, the Ruitesi Q2.
Aside from its two A segment models, the Chery division no longer offers many cars. One exception to this general rule is the Arrizo 6 as well as its GX and EX derivatives. This sedan was originally called Arrizo 5 and had been previewed by the Chery Alpha concept, a svelte four-door saloon which premiered at April 2014’s Beijing motor show. An updated concept was revealed at April 2015’s Shanghai motor show: the Alpha5. A prototype of the 4.6m long production model premiered at November 2015’s Guangzhou motor show. This was the first time that the model name, Arrizo 5, was used. The car went on sale in China in March 2016.
In September 2018, Chery changed the car’s name to both Arrizo 6 while also referring to it as the GX and EX. The EX is more expensive than the GX. All these variants should be replaced in 2023.
The Arisun (name to be confirmed) will be mid-sized pick-up which shares its rear- and all-wheel drive architecture with a forthcoming SUV codenamed P11. Not to be confused with the cheaper pick-up which the company will reportedly also launch. That one will be supplied by ZX Auto.
Reports for many other manufacturers’ future models are grouped in the OEM product strategy summaries section of just-auto.com.
Future product program intelligence
More detail on past, current and forthcoming models can be found in PLDB, the future vehicles database which is part of QUBE.
The next OEM to be featured in the future vehicles series will be Zotye Auto.
