Author: Chery Sandton

Chery establishes fully owned affiliate in South Africa
Company to partner with 30 dealers at time of launch in Q4 2021
Product range to showcase world-class technology and performance making Chery vehicles truly “Fun to Drive”

One of China’s most-respected vehicle manufacturers and the winning brand in the 2020 China National Car of the Year competition, is heading to South Africa.

Chery today announced the establishment of Chery South Africa, a wholly owned subsidiary of the industrial powerhouse and China’s top vehicle export brand for the past 18 years. The announcement makes South Africa the newest member of a global network with a family of over 9,5 million owners across more than 80 countries and regions. Indeed, Chery adds a new overseas owner to its family every 2 minutes.

From its new head office in Bryanston, Johannesburg, Chery South Africa will now complete the process of appointing the first 30 dealers and preparing for the introduction of the first vehicles, which are expected in the fourth quarter of 2021.
“For Chery, the South African office holds a very special significance. The country welcomed our vehicles with open arms in 2007, and we have been supporting our customer base of over 15 000 owners with parts and servicing ever since.
“Now we have the opportunity to enter the market directly, with a national network of dedicated Chery dealers and our completely new range of vehicles,” says Tony Liu, Executive Deputy General Manager, Chery South Africa.

Liu says that while the first Chery vehicles for sale will only arrive on local shores in late 2021, the company has been hard at work testing the vehicles in local conditions, recruiting the best dealers in key areas across South Africa and growing its parts storage and distribution capabilities beyond that which it used to service its existing car parc.

“By entering the market directly, customers will be able to experience the best that Chery has to offer, both in customer service and in our next-generation of products. If our experience in other global markets is anything to go by, then customers will be blown away.”

World-renowned automotive leader
While many South Africans will be familiar with the Chery brand, its range of ultra-modern cars and SUVs will surprise even the most avid car fanSince manufacturing its first vehicle 24 years ago, Chery has focused on developing its own core technologies, including a range of engines, vehicle platforms and safety technology. Today Chery is recognised as a global leader on these fronts, with over 13 000 technology patents and 5 500 dedicated research and development specialists in five research and development (R&D) centres spread across the globe.

The results speak for themselves. In 2020, the Chery TIGGO 8 PRO beat all comers with over 1 million votes to become the Chinese National Car of the Year. Shortly thereafter, it won the Annual Innovation Award in recognition of its outstanding quality and innovative technologies.

“The TIGGO 8 PRO (called the TIGGO 8 PLUS in its home market) is just the latest example of our design and engineering expertise,” says Liu. “It has, alongside its many siblings, helped Chery to be recognised as one of the ‘Chinese Brands with the Best Global Image’ for the fifth time in 2020.”

Liu explains that after first making its products available to importers in South Africa, Chery reinvented itself as a technology and design leader and the benchmark for customer service, both at home in China and elsewhere.

Chery has become a benchmark for many technologies. For instance, its electric EQ1 and EQ5 together won 10 awards in the recent China EV Rally 2021, including the award for the best fast charging technology and the best battery endurance.

In the field of internal combustion, Chery has also led the way. Its current 1.6 ACTECTO TGDI direct-injection engine was voted one of the 10 Best Engines in the China Heart awards, along with five other engines from the group. Judges noted the ACTECTO engine’s high-power delivery (145 kW and 290 Nm) and incredible thermal efficiency of 37.1% as reasons for winning the award. For fuel power solutions, Chery unveiled its 2.0 TGDI engine with a maximum power of 192KW and peak torque of 400 Nm, unleashing performance that is both robust and peerless in its competitor set.

And in the world of hybrid technology, the forthcoming Chery Universal Hybrid system will offer a real-world fuel consumption of 1 litre per 100 km in a combined driving cycle. This will not come at the cost of performance, with the system offering a 0-100 km/h time of five seconds.

Chery has developed its own suite of technologies across the entire spectrum of propulsion, including electric, internal combustion, hybrid, hydrogen and compressed natural gas. It also works with world leaders like Aisin, Getrag, Bosch and Schaeffler to perfect its technologies and create a drivetrain that is true to its brand promise of “Fun to Drive”.

“When we introduce our first models in South Africa, customers will be excited to see that our focus is not only on the technology under the skin, but also in the cabin. Our range of intelligent driving assistance systems is world class, and we are a leader in the field of high resolution screens and touch- and voice-control technologies,” says Liu.

Safety first

“Wherever Chery is sold, our brand has become synonymous with technology, fashion and design and high quality. We are also well known and loved for our vehicle safety,” says Liu.

Liu explains that like its focus on proprietary engine and electric technology, Chery has developed best-in-class vehicle platforms for its SUVs, sedans and future new-propulsion vehicles.

These platforms include the SUV-focused T1X platform, the M3X platform for high-end SUVs and MPVs, the M1X platform for sedans and the forthcoming NEV platform for Chery’s range of New Energy vehicles.

These platforms utilise, among other innovations, high tensile steel that is hot-formed into position and six-dimensional frame design with not one, but multiple energy channels. The frame’s strength has been tested to the extreme, including submitting the hot-formed frame to pistol fire tests, which it passed with minimal damage. The energy-dispersing system allows crash energy to flow away from the occupants across multiple channels, allowing for the highest safety standards for all models.

“Chery has a safety laboratory that covers over 32 000 square metres, making it one of the biggest of its kind in the automotive industry. In this laboratory, we can replicate the strictest China NCAP and Euro NCAP standards, ensuring that safety is built in from the ground up,” says Liu.

South Africa – the next step

While its primary focus will be on establishing the true Chery brand in South Africa, the company aims to grow its footprint across the continent.

“South Africa is a very important market for us. Customers have high expectations, and we want to meet and exceed them.

“Once we have established a firm foothold in this market, we will use the expertise in the country and its import position as a springboard into the rest of the continent,” says Liu.

To ensure it meets and exceeds the expectations of South African motorists, Chery will enter the market with an established network of 30 dealers. These dealers are been selected over the past year for their strong track record, good reputation and geographical location.

Chery will back these dealers with a large parts warehouse, strong mechanical warranty and service plan, and a comprehensive 24-hour roadside assistance service. Chery is also studying the local introduction of its global Chery app, available on both iOS and Android, which will not only allow the owner to monitor his or her vehicle’s health but connect directly with Chery South Africa to book a service or interact with the Customer Service team.

“In 2010, our chairman, Yin Tongyue, shared with the world our change from a company that was focused on sales, speed and scale to one that is fanatical about quality, brand and long-term returns. This is most evident in our new range of products, and we cannot wait to show them to South African customers,” says Liu.

On May 24, Chery Automobile Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Chery”) and iFlytek CO., LTD. (hereinafter referred to as “iFlytek”) signed a comprehensive deepening strategic cooperation framework agreement at the headquarters of Chery. This is an important cooperation upgrade on the basis of the formal establishment of the strategic partnership between the two sides in 2017. The cooperation scope covers multiple fields such as intelligent products and enterprise digital transformation, and all-round cooperation between the two sides.

Chery Automobile has always adhered to technological innovation and formed a relatively complete technology and product research and development system in the fields of traditional vehicles, new energy vehicles, intelligent connected vehicles, and driverless vehicles. Chery’s products have been exported to more than 80 countries and regions around the world, with a total sales volume of 9.35 million vehicles, including over 1.75 million vehicles exported. Chery has remained the No.1 among Chinese brands in exporting passenger cars for 18 consecutive years. iFlytek, a well-known listed enterprise of intelligent voice and artificial intelligence, has long been engaged in the research of core AI technologies such as speech and language, natural language understanding, image recognition and video analysis, machine learning & reasoning and autonomous learning, with cutting-edge technologies in the world. Chery and iFlytek have cooperated with each other for a long time. The first cooperation between them was carried out in 2003, and the strategic partnership was formally established in 2017.Up to now, the two sides have carried out intelligent cooperation on more than 22 mass production models.

Under the comprehensive deepening strategic cooperation framework agreement, the two sides will continue to deepen cooperation in the areas of smart cockpit and Internet of Vehicles solutions, on which they have worked together for many years, develop a series of intelligent products, jointly create intelligent vehicle audio systems and solutions for various Chery brands, and carry out comprehensive and in-depth cooperation in AI marketing & service, intelligent customer service center and other fields. The two sides will use their respective resources to cooperate on intelligent driving and, under appropriate conditions, try to jointly build an autonomous vehicle that can reach level 4 under specific scenarios. Based on the advantages of Chery’s overseas market and iFlytek’s multilingual technology, both parties will explore international multilingual cooperation, focus on the key export regions of Chery Automobile, Chery develops intelligent interactive products in English, Russian, Arabic, Portuguese and other languages to help Chery promote its globalization strategy.

According to the results of 2021 China Auto Customer Satisfaction Survey (Fuel Vehicles) recently released by CATARC Information Consultation Co., Ltd. (CATARC Consultation), Chery’s global quality sedan-Arrizo 6 Pro came out on top in the satisfaction assessment of Chinese cars, ranking among the top three in the segment of “mid-size compact sedans”.

As a Chinese professional testing & evaluation authority, CATARC Consultation has released the results of China Auto Customer Satisfaction Survey for 9 years in a row since 2012. This year’s survey covered 153 fuel models in 16 segments, interviewed consumers in 35 Chinese cities and collected over 20,000 samples. The company evaluated the models from multiple dimensions such as product satisfaction, service satisfaction, sales satisfaction and after-sales service satisfaction. The survey is of guiding significance for consumers to buy cars and for manufacturers to improve product and service quality.

Arrizo 6 Pro stood out to gain high praise from the authority, showing consumers’ high recognition of its product quality and after-sales service, as well as its tremendous comprehensive strength.

Outstanding satisfaction and reputation show the success of the “great item strategy”

As Chery’s first model up to global standards, Arrizo has been well known at home and abroad for its tremendous comprehensive strength, been exported to over 80 countries and regions, been favored by nearly 700,000 consumers, and been selected as “the Most Popular Chinese Auto Brand” and “the Best Model of the Year” many times in Russia, Brazil and other countries. Behind its outstanding sales and reputation is the success of Chery’s “great item strategy”.

Arrizo 6 Pro integrating global quality resources deserves the title of “global quality sedan”

Outstanding product quality is the basis of customer satisfaction. To ensure global quality, Arrizo 6 Pro integrated global quality resources, including an international design team, global R&D standards and global top 500 parts suppliers, and delivered “reliable global quality” by tremendous strength comparable to joint venture and luxury brands. For example, the engine carries a turbocharger from world-renowned Honeywell, and the seats are from Adient, a top luxury brand supplier focusing on auto seats. Besides, the model comes with a series of parts from world top suppliers, including Bosch’s new ESP, to build comprehensive strength in design, intelligence and quality.

The concept of “customer foremost” and innovative marketing strike a chord with consumers

To make its way into consumers’ hearts, from product to marketing, Arrizo 6 Pro has been inspired by the concept of “customer foremost” and catered to the needs of young consumers. Through distinctive product release and innovative marketing moves such as star endorsement, Arrizo 6 has not only fully demonstrated its global and young image, but also struck a chord with young consumers, touched them and reserved sufficient strength for its global sales boom.

J.D. Power released its 2020 China Initial Quality Study (IQS) report and 2020 China Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) report in late 2020. According to the reports, Chery has reached industrial levels whether in new vehicle quality or in vehicle reliability. After years of strategic transformation, Chery has sped into a new stage of high-quality development, achieving a leap from “quantitative change” to “qualitative change”.

“Since 2010, Chery has made a switch from the pursuit of ‘sales, speed and scale’ to the pursuit of ‘quality, brand and return’ by establishing systems, improving quality and building brands, laying a solid foundation for a new leap,” said Yin Tongyue, Chairman of Chery Automobile Co., Ltd. To him, Chery’s high-quality development is inseparable from its sound systems and quality and brand pursuit.

Establishing systems to consolidate the foundation of high-quality development

Chery has created nine operation and management systems (strategic operation, quality management, product management, purchase management, production management, marketing management, financial management, HR management and IT management) through strategic transformation, laying a foundation for the high-quality development of Chery.

Chery has created an “excellent quality management system” by improving the process and standard of the “5+1” module. “5+1” refers to systematically organizing quality management activities of all departments and procedures to create one mutually coordinated and promoted quality assurance system with specific tasks, responsibilities and authorities. The system focuses on five processes of product realization: planning, design & development, supplier management, production and marketing service.

In terms of production, Chery is the first independent brand to establish a globally uniform production management system-CPS (Chery Production System) which further ensures the global quality of Chery’s products. Thanks to Chery’s total quality management system, Chery is far above the average industry level in terms of 3MIS IPTV (incidents per thousand vehicles within 3 months in service).

Improving quality to realize “zero defect”

At Chery, quality is not itself in the traditional sense but is reflected in full-process details. To Chery, any perception that can arouse customers’ desire to buy is related to quality, such as vision, smell, hearing, touch and feeling. For this reason, Chery requires employees to think and act from the perspective of customer perception to find out what they really like.

For example, Chery requires that employees should look into details such as consumers’ desired design, smell, sound and texture. The Chery Customer Product Audit (CCPA) system thus emerged to ensure conventional product quality and eliminate all the problems against customers’ perceived quality.

Building brands to guide Chinese brands in “going up”

With the advancement of systematization, Chery’s product quality has been widely recognized worldwide. In December 2020, as the only automaker among participating Chinese enterprises, Chery stood out from 577 QC teams from 15 countries in the final of 45th International Convention on Quality Control Circles (ICQCC 2020) to claim the top award-Platinum Award, winning the highest honor known as the quality “Olympics” for China for the fourth time.

Besides, Chery has improved its overseas brand image through localized marketing. Before entering an overseas market, Chery would study local consumers’ behavioral habits and launch corresponding marketing measures to fully integrate itself into the local community. In Chile and other South American countries crazy for football, Chery has enhanced its brand popularity through sports marketing. UC Club sponsored by Chery won the Chilean Primera División title in February 2021, to boost Chery’s global sports marketing and further enhance its overseas image.

Remarkably, Chery was listed among “Chinese Enterprises with the Best Global Image” for the fifth time in 2020.

Quality is the basis of competition and brands are the key to competition. With the development of economic globalization, quality and brands have gradually become the core competitiveness of enterprises. Under this prevailing trend, Chery is achieving a leap from “quality orientation” to “brand orientation” with equal emphasis on quality

On March 27, the results of the 4th “Lopal Cup Top 10 Transmissions in the World” sponsored by CarBingo Academy are newly released.

After strict real vehicle tests and expert reviews, Chery CVT25 stands out from many shortlisted products, gets unanimous praise from the jury, and wins the title of “Top 10 Transmissions in the World”.

This activity, sponsored by CarBingo Academy, is the only authoritative selection in the field of transmissions in the world. CVT25 getting shortlisted this time not only demonstrates Chery’s strong R&D strength, but also confirms the high-level drivability of Chery products.

CVT25 shows international leading strength in the face of rigorous evaluation in terms of transmission ratio range, transmission efficiency, light weight, vibration, noise, etc. This transmission integrates a series of advanced technologies such as independent hydraulic system, Bosch new-generation pushbelt, high-efficiency vane pump with flow control, and low viscosity oil, and has excellent performance in terms of reliability, fuel consumption, dynamic response and NVH performance.

As for detailed parameters, CVT25 can withstand a maximum torque of 250 N•m, which is sufficient for 1.5T or even 1.6T models. The speed ratio reaches 7.07, which means the selection range of r.p.m gets larger to achieve better fuel economy and improve the acceleration performance. The transmission efficiency as high as 97% also minimizes power consumption, allowing users to enjoy travel with low consumption and no burden. In the actual driving, even in high-speed sections and congested sections with frequent starts and stops, high comfort can be guaranteed.

This transmission is applied to many Chery models such as Tiggo 8 PRO, Tiggo 7 PRO and others. Winning “Top 10 Transmissions in the World” is not only the praise of the industry and consumers for Chery products, but also the support and affirmation for Chery Automobile to adhere to technological innovation.

Chery Holding Group (hereinafter referred to as “Chery Group”) recently released the latest sales report for February 2021. Data shows that in February, Chery Group continued to maintain its “acceleration”, with 50,778 vehicles sold, up 144.9% year over year. Notably, Chery Automobile’s star products represented by the new generation of Chery Tiggo 8 and Chery Tiggo 5x continued to sell well in the European and South American markets. In February, 16,512 vehicles were exported, a 107.3% year-on-year increase.

As the earliest Chinese auto brand to explore the international market, Chery Automobile sees a continued growth in international sales in 2021. On the one hand, this stems from its long-term commitment to the globalization strategy; on the other hand, it is made possible by the continued diversification of Chery Automobile’s product portfolios for foreign markets, the tech-driven quality empowerment, and the further improvement of its brand image.

Star car models go global and “International Tiggo” enters the global market

Beginning in 2019, Chery Automobile has accelerated the launch of new products overseas in order to further expand the international market. Chery’s star car models headlined by Chery Arrizo 5, Chery Tiggo 5x, Chery Tiggo 7, and the new generation of Chery Tiggo 8 have successively “gone global”, enlarging the fan base in the global market with their strength. Taking the new generation of Chery Tiggo 8 as an example, it was launched in the Brazilian market last August and got an impressive monthly sales of more than 1,000 units in as little as four months. It was selected as the “Midsize SUV of the Year” by the renowned Brazilian website UOL after a victory over the Ford Territory and Jeep Compass.

In February 2021, Chery Automobile’s another global model, the Chery Tiggo 5x”, also went global from the Port of Shanghai, heading for overseas markets including Russia. Complement to Chery’s overseas product portfolios, it will also further boost Chery’s sales growth in overseas markets.

Technology-driven quality empowerment and high standards to establish hard power

The automobile industry is a technology intensive industry. To gain positive international recognition, Chinese auto brands must be anchored in technology and quality. Technically, Chery Automobile has insisted on independent innovation since its establishment in 1997, with 5%-7% of its sales revenue invested in research and development every year. In terms of key core technologies such as engines, Chery has already had the capabilities to compete directly with multinational auto manufacturers in the countries such as South Korea and Japan.

As for quality, Chery has established a globally unified standard Production Management System – Chery Production System (CPS), which effectively guarantees the quality of new products. At present, the 3MIS IPTV (incidents per thousand vehicles within 3 months) of Chery’s new products has led the pack among Chinese brands and exceeded the average level of some mainstream joint venture brands.

Proven technology and reliable quality enable Chery Automobile to gradually conquer the picky overseas consumers. Taking the Russian market as an example, Chery has currently sold more than 200,000 vehicles locally, and has been repeatedly honored as the “Most Popular Chinese Auto Brand” in Russia, claiming the top spot among Chinese car brands.

Deep dedication to local marketing, with further improved brand image

In addition to the continued expansion of overseas product portfolios and the empowerment of technology and quality, the fact that Chery’s overseas sales have soared is also directly linked to the sustained efforts to promote local development. Chery has always hoped to bring benefits to all parties by introducing vehicles to the market, but to share development results with its partners during its overseas development journey. For instance, Chery builds local facilities overseas to generate more job opportunities in local areas. At the same time, it has also brought some of Chery’s state-of-the-art technologies, manufacturing processes, and management methods, speeding up the development of local automobile manufacturing technology.

In addition, Chery has also fueled the enhancement of its brand image overseas through deep dedication to local marketing. Every time Chery stakes a claim in a foreign market, it will dive into local consumer behavior and habits, and launch corresponding marketing measures to fully integrate into the local social culture. In Chile, South America, and other regions where football is popular, Chery leverages sports marketing to make its brand image more popular. In February 2021, Club Deportivo Universidad Católica sponsored by Chery won the championship, adding another success to Chery’s global sports marketing efforts and further upgrading Chery’s brand image overseas.

At the same time, Chery is ramping up its global presence, including building a globally integrated R&D system and sales service system to support the localized operations of Chery products in mainstream global markets. Currently, Chery has established five major R&D bases, 10 overseas factories, 1,500-plus overseas dealers and service stations around the world, with a total overseas production capacity of 200,000 units per year. Looking into the future, Chery will further integrate global resources, and have global product development processes on board to further enhance Chery’s ability to compete in the global market.

Through deep dedication to overseas markets for 20 years, Chery Automobile has completed the fundamental transformation from initially “pure trade” to “brand output” today, from the “going global” of products to the “going in” of factories and culture and to the “going up” of the brand. Today, Chery Automobile products have been sold to more than 80 countries and regions around the world, with a cumulative export of over 1.7 million vehicles. In the international automobile arena, Chery Automobile, like mainstream multinational brands, has become a household name in many countries, and has been the first choice on ordinary people’s car purchase list.

China has been the world’s largest automobile market for 12 consecutive years, and several famous brands have emerged in China’s automotive industry, among which Chery is one of the best.

While the automotive industry is ushering in the era of the “New Four Modernizations”, Chery has made a series of efforts in its strategic layout and taken the lead in completing the platform-based and modular construction of the traditional gas-fueled vehicle system. In the future, while continuing to accelerate the development of traditional gas-fueled vehicles, Chery will invest more in cutting-edge technologies such as new energy, automotive electronics, artificial intelligence and Internet applications, strengthen industry-university-research collaboration and focus on new energy, intelligent connectivity and overseas markets, thereby creating more growth engines for Chery’s future development, rapidly expanding its global market scale and enhancing its brand image.

Since its founding in 1997, Chery has adhered to independent innovation and gradually established a complete R&D system of technologies and products. Its products are exported to more than 80 countries and regions around the world. It has created famous products such as the ARRIZO and TIGGO, as well as the high-end brand EXEED. Chery also owns such brands as Chery Jaguar Land Rover through joint ventures.

Chery’s rapid development is due to its continuously increasing investment in R&D, improving R&D team building, enhancing corporate innovation capability, building core competitiveness and providing a technological guarantee for corporate development. In recent years, centering on the technical route planning of “One Line and Five Layers”, Chery has focused on system process reengineering and technological innovation while consolidating the traditional automotive industry, and significantly improved its core competitiveness represented by the “TQCDI indicators” (Technology, Quality, Cost, Delivery and Investment).

Chery’s technological innovation is becoming deeper and deeper like “digging a well”. Through the constant integration of new technologies and new processes with traditional core technologies, and a forward-looking layout aiming at new energy, intelligent connectivity and other fields, it has achieved sustainable iterative innovation capability. In this way, generation after generation, the technical R&D layout of “application for a generation, reserve for a generation, R&D for a generation” has been formed, ensuring that the technology of each generation of Chery products is always cutting-edge.

In terms of product development, Chery has established a matrix product development mode in which the product development management center and various technical centers cooperate, forming a V-shaped R&D system and process for vehicle development. In manufacturing, Chery is the first Chinese brand to establish a production management system with global unified standards – the CPS (Chery Production System) – which effectively guarantees the quality of new products. Chery is currently the leading brand in China in terms of 3MIS IPTV (Incidents per Thousand Vehicles in 3 Months).

Over the years, based on its V-shaped positive development system compliant with international standards, Chery has gradually completed a “Big R&D” pattern of integrating its R&D talents and processes with those of its joint ventures, and established a relatively complete product R&D system covering the development of vehicles, powertrains, key parts and trial production and testing. Through technological innovation, Chery has made breakthroughs in core technologies such as TGDI (Turbocharged Gasoline Direct Injection), CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission), new energy and intelligent technologies, driving the technological upgrading of all its products.

Adhering to independent R&D, Chery invests 5–7% of its annual sales revenue in technical R&D. It has established a global R&D layout including the Wuhu Headquarters in China and R&D bases in Shanghai, Europe, North America, the Middle East and Brazil, and possesses a global R&D team of more than 5,500 designers and engineers from more than ten countries. The Chery Group has established nearly 30 state-level innovative enterprises, technical centers and laboratories. As early as 2008, Chery established the Forward Technology Research Institute as a “fenceless research institute” which integrates intellectual resources at home and abroad with industry-university-research collaboration and cross-border innovation. Chery’s advanced talent concept and mature human resource management system have laid a solid foundation for it to confront competition in the global automobile market and build an international brand in the “New Four Modernizations” era.

So far, Chery has applied for 20,794 patents, of which13,153 have been granted, ranking at the forefront of China’s automotive industry. It has won the first prize once and second prize three times at the “China National Awards for Science and Technology Progress”. In the ranking of the “2019 Automotive Patent Innovation Index” released by the China Automotive Technology and Research Center, Chery ranked first among Chinese automotive brands in terms of “patent quality evaluation”, the most important index, and first among Chinese automobile brands and in the top 20 global brands in the field of intelligent connectivity, representing cutting-edge technologies.

Chery in the Traditional Vehicle Industry

As the earliest leader of Chinese brands, Chery pioneered adherence to positive R&D and made great achievements in the three core technologies of engine, transmission and chassis, earning its reputation as “Technology Chery”. In traditional automobile technology, Chery was the first automobile enterprise to master engine, automatic transmission, chassis, engine management system (EMS) and platform technologies through independent innovation.

In terms of engines, Chery has completed the R&D of three generations of engines and developed more than 20 engines in total, six of which have won the coveted title of “Top Ten Engines” in China. The 1.6TGDI engine, a third-generation engine independently developed by Chery, has been launched on the market in a number of products including the new TIGGO 8, and gained a favorable market response.

In terms of transmissions, Chery began to explore the independent development of CVT technology in 2003 and succeeded eventually as the product was officially put into production in 2010. In 2013, Chery Automobile filled the gap in China’s automotive industry for high-end automatic transmissions with its independently developed CVT technology, which won the first prize at the China Automotive Industry Awards for Science and Technology.

In terms of platform technologies, Chery is also the first Chinese automobile brand to build automobile platforms. All of Chery’s existing products are developed on the basis of its four product platforms: T1X, M1X, M3X and the new energy platform. Thanks to the development of its leading platform technology, Chery can put new products on the market with mature technology and higher quality at a faster rate, accelerate its product iteration and enhance its market competitiveness.

Chery in the New Energy Industry

Today, the development of the new energy automotive industry has become a national strategy, and China’s automotive industry is rapidly developing towards electric transformation. Seeing electric transformation as an important opportunity to “change lanes and overtake”, Chinese brands have taken the lead in launching a series of electric products and realizing rapid iteration, striving to achieve the leap from a “follower of technology” to a “leader of technology”.

As one of the earliest independent vehicle companies in China to develop new energy vehicles, Chery commenced its R&D of energy-saving and new energy vehicles as early as 1999, and has since established a complete R&D system of new energy technologies including vehicle integration, core technologies and core component development capabilities. To date, Chery has applied for more than 900 patents in the field of new energy, of which over 600 have been granted, leading in the industry.

Chery New Energy is a pioneer in the field of new energy vehicles. Through unremitting efforts in R&D for more than ten years, it has taken the lead in making breakthroughs in the field of lightweight technology, realized the low-cost and green mass production of new energy passenger vehicles based on “lightweight aluminum materials”, and created a new model for constantly promoting the technological progress of the automotive industry. Since its development of aluminum-based composite vehicle bodies in 2015, Chery has cooperated with a number of scientific research institutes on national projects, accumulated substantial technical achievements and developed related experimental equipment. With the deepening of such work, Chery decided to establish a lightweight technology laboratory. In March 2020, Chery New Energy was certified as a “Key Laboratory of Anhui Province in Lightweight Technology of New Energy Vehicles”.

Chery New Energy Small Ant, the leader of the A000 battery electric vehicle (EV)segment, is the benchmark for lightweight EVs and the first battery EV among independent Chinese brands to be built with an all-aluminum lightweight body. This bodywork structure reduces the weight of the whole vehicle by 40% compared with traditional vehicles. Chery’s “3R-BODY” structural design can not only effectively ensure driving safety, but also contribute to the lightweight and maneuverability of the whole vehicle, thus effectively extending the cruising range. Since its launch in 2017, Chery New Energy Small Ant has undergone four evolutions and set a number of records: China’s first EV created through positive independent development; the first battery EV built with an all-aluminum lightweight body; China’s first two-door four-seat battery EV with a cruising range of more than 300 km; the first battery EV with an automatic parking function; the best-selling battery EV in its market segment; and the battery EV model with the highest penetration rate in shared mobility.

The end of 2019 saw the official launch of the S61, Chery New Energy’s first all-aluminum lightweight battery electric SUV. As a core strategic model of Chery New Energy, the S61 integrates the latest cutting-edge technology with consumer demands and aesthetic trends. The launch of the S61 (later renamed “Ant”) provides users with a smarter and greener choice of mobility.

The Chery New Energy team led the project “Key Technologies and Equipment for Short Process R&D and Manufacturing of Aluminum-based Lightweight New Energy Passenger Vehicles”, which won the first prize at the China Automotive Industry Awards for Science and Technology in 2020. This award proves that Chery New Energy has established a complete independent intellectual property system covering the key technologies, equipment and short processes of the R&D and manufacturing of aluminum-based lightweight bodywork. Chery’s world-leading system effectively promotes the technological progress of the industry and further accelerates the arrival of the green manufacturing era.

In terms of future technology planning, Chery has formulated the “457” technology development plan which consists of four new energy product platforms, five general subsystems and seven core technologies including battery EVs, hybrid vehicles, extended range EVs, fuel cells and so on. Chery’s new energy products will gradually cover various market segments in the future, including Class A to Class C cars and Class B to Class D SUVs, covering plug-in hybrid vehicles, battery EVs, extended-range EVs, electric four-wheel-drive vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Chery in Intelligent Connectivity

Today, in the context of the automobile technology revolution, intelligent connectivity technology is becoming a common basic technology. Chery is taking the lead in exploring the intelligent connectivity field of smart mobility in the future and accelerating its transformation from a traditional automobile company to an Internet company. Based on the original intelligent automobile business group, the sector of intelligent connectivity and autonomous driving has integrated businesses such as big data, artificial intelligence and intelligent manufacturing, growing into one of the seven industrial sectors.

In terms of intelligent connectivity technology, in 2018, Chery officially released its intelligent brand strategy” CHERY LION”, declaring a comprehensive transformation to intelligence and devoting itself to providing global consumers with an “intelligent and connected lifestyle for the new era”.

“CHERY LION” has five business platforms, namely i-Drive@ Lion, i-Connect@ Lion, i-Make@ Lion, i-Digital@Lionand i-Mobility@Lion, covering Chery’s digital and intelligent layout in the whole life cycle from R&D, manufacturing and marketing to services. These five business platforms will be constantly adjusted and rationally evolve based on changes in the intelligent industry and consumer market, establishing a complete, sustainable and strategically guided Lion system which supports the intelligent evolution of the Chery brand.

At present, Chery’s” Lion Cloud OS” has developed to the 4.0 version and is installed in the latest models, with over 500,000 users. In the ranking of the “2019 Automotive Patent Innovation Index” released by the China Automotive Technology and Research Center, Chery’s comprehensive patent index in the field of intelligent connectivity ranked among the top 20 in the world and first among Chinese automobile brands.

In terms of autonomous driving technology, Chery has launched “i-Drive@ Lion”, a technology platform focusing on autonomous driving. At present, L2.5 autonomous driving technology has been adopted in new products launched on the market, and in 2025, L4 highly autonomous driving technology will be realized.

At Chery, where “Technology Rules”, artificial intelligence has long been successfully integrated with the automotive industry and has a place in the market. Meanwhile, Chery also keeps upgrading its technology, providing driving assistance functions such as blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning and automatic parking. In the future, Chery will also incorporate more Internet eco systems in its vehicles such as intelligent payment and facial recognition.

Chery in Overseas Markets

Since its early stages, Chery has paid attention to developing both domestic and international markets. As the first automobile brand in China to “go global”, Chery has been expanding overseas markets in various forms including vehicle export, CKD, joint ventures and localized R&D and production since its first exports in 2001.

Chery has been listed among the “Top 20 Chinese Enterprises with the Best Global Image” five times, and has established four R&D centers, ten production bases and more than 1,500 sales and service outlets overseas. Chery has sold over 1.7 million products in more than 80 countries and regions. From January to December 2020, Chery exported a total of 114,000 vehicles, up by 18.7%year on year, making it the number one exporter among Chinese passenger vehicle manufacturers for 18 consecutive years.

Chery Automobile has been able to maintain its competitiveness overseas for so many years because of its long-term insistence on its international development strategy. In order to build its global competitiveness, Chery formulated a “three-step” strategy: before 2013, Chery took developing markets as the breakthrough point and focused on export trade to make its products “go global” successfully. In 2014, Chery began to “go deeper”, actively developing emerging markets such as Brazil and Russia, establishing four major plants, exporting technology, management and culture, and “going deeper” into local markets. From 2020, Chery will push the brand to “go higher” and complete the international layout including mainstream markets such as Europe and America.

In 2020, against the global background of the COVID-19 epidemic, Chery’s overseas exports still achieved substantial growth. The high-end brand EXEED entered the Russian market with the TXL model as the pioneer taking a new step in Chery’s globalization strategy. The EXEED TXL also won the honor of “Best New Vehicle in 2020” in Russia. Chery’s products represented by the new TIGGO 8 are popular in Russia, Saudi Arabia, Chile, Ukraine, Philippines, Peru and other countries, with both sales volume and market share reaching record highs.

At present, Chery is accelerating its global market strategy, including building a global integrated R&D system and sales service system to support the localized operation of Chery products in global mainstream markets. At present, Chery’s R&D centers in Europe and North America have been put into operation. The European R&D Center, Chery’s “vanguard” for entering the European market, is mainly responsible for three core businesses: first, the design business which supports Chery’s European and international projects; second, the R&D business which supports Chery’s development of the European market and cooperation with European partners; and third, the market business which makes preparations for Chery’s related brands and products to enter the European market in the future. The North American R&D center will focus on the R&D of autonomous driving.

In the future, Chery will further integrate the professional knowledge reserves and development capabilities of major R&D outlets around the world, and introduce global product development processes to further enhance its ability to participate in global market competition.

The severe global epidemic situation and the accelerated reshuffle of the automotive industry have not hindered the pace of Chery’s “going higher”.

Always putting customers first and oriented by customer demands, Chery produces excellent products and satisfactory services with which it wins the trust and support of its customers. In the future, Chery will continue to improve its service experience standards and development quality to bring customers convenient, rapid, sincere, enthusiastic, trustworthy and high-quality services.

In 2021, under the double pressure of the global economic downturn and the cyclical adjustment of the automotive industry, Chery is taking great strides towards becoming an international brand with global competitiveness.

After achieving record monthly sales in 2020, Chery Holding Group maintained its momentum at the beginning of 2021 with sales of 97,060 units in January, up 80.2% year on year, including exports of 16,723 units, up 86.7% year on year and new energy vehicle sales of 7,381 units, up 559.6% year on year.

Chery’s Tiggo 8 series and Arrizo series both maintained sales of over 10,000 units. Tiggo 8 contributed 20,330 units, exceeding 20,000 units for the third straight year. Arrizo 8 registered sales of 10,193 units in January. Driven by the electric SUV-Ant and the mini electric SUV-Little Ant, Chery’s new energy passenger vehicle sector achieved sales of 6,705 units, up 570.5% year on year.

With the advancement of its globalization strategy, Chery has not only achieved domestic growth amid the industrial slump, but also kept making breakthroughs abroad and maintained the sound situation in which domestic operations and international operations promoted each other. On the basis of securing the lead among Chinese passenger vehicle exporters for the 18th straight year with exports of 114,000 units in 2020, Chery exported 16,723 units in January 2021, up 86.7% year on year. Chery’s passenger vehicles, represented New Tiggo 8, enjoyed great popularity in Europe and South America, with exports of 14,520 units in 14,520 units, up 82% year on year.

To date Chery has had 9.25 million customers worldwide. With its persistent efforts on product, channel and brand development, Chery’s sales will continue to rise in 2021.

Chery’s First Future ICV Plant Project broke ground in Wuhu, China on February 3, marking a new step of Chery’s major “new infrastructure” project aimed to accelerate intelligent transformation. According to Chery’s “fourteenth five-year” plan, Chery’s “Future ICV Plant” Project involves the construction of three high-end digital, networked and intelligent plants in Wuhu, and First Future ICV Plant Project that started first is expected to achieve an annual output of 500,000 units (including KDs).

With the advent of the new-round technology revolution and consumption upgrading, the auto industry with a history of over 140 years is facing disruptive changes empowered by electrification, intelligentization, networking and sharing, said Yin Tongyao, Chairman of Chery Holding Group Co., Ltd. Chery must embrace the great change unseen in a century. To this end, Chery has deployed “new growth points” such as new energy, intelligent connection and mobility in its strategic plan, fully shifted its investment and innovation focus from traditional vehicles to intelligent vehicles and new energy vehicles, and comprehensively upgraded its production scale, manufacturing technologies and management processes. It is imminent to build future-oriented high-end smart plants. To achieve full prosperity, Chery must take deep roots in intelligent and green development.

Guided by green manufacturing and smart digital technologies, Chery’s Future ICV Plant Project aims to build a top model green intelligent plant and an intelligent connection demonstration zone in China. While constructing three high-end smart plants, the project will construct a hybrid powertrain plant, a core parts plant and an international CKD plant with corresponding production capacity, as well as an intelligent connection demonstration zone based on 5G, AI, big data and other technologies. First Future ICV Plant will manufacture over 10 high-performance new models, including new-generation platform products (Chery 4.0 products) and Tiggo 8 series (the core product of the T1X platform). The development of new-generation hybrid engines and transmissions will be advanced concurrently.

Chery’s Future ICV Plant Project, to be constructed in accordance with advanced industrial standards, enjoys prominent competitive advantage: first, the project that features high efficiency, automation, transparency and digitalization throughout production, is beyond the level of Intelligent Manufacturing 3.0; second, with low operating cost, the project has leading cost performance in China; third, the project ensures zero defect of products under the model of “own process completion”; fourth, the project realizes efficient manufacturing through multi-platform & model flexible production, short processes and zero inventory; fifth, the project is a green plant that ensures low energy consumption and zero emission through full-process energy conservation and environmental protection.

In the coming five years, powered by the Future ICV Plant, Chery will accelerate the thorough transformation from traditional vehicles to intelligent vehicles. The plant aims to be a “sample” for the high-quality development of China’s auto industry that will explore a new model for China’s auto industry to firmly grasp core technologies and achieve high-quality development; will become a demonstrative base for the development of strategic emerging industries that will play a demonstrative role in industrial agglomeration and quality improvement; and will become a “new engine” for Chery’s development that will help Chery improve production capacity, technical level, manufacturing level and management level, and further optimize its whole value chain layout in the auto industry to develop into a world first-class brand in an accelerated manner.

Chery recently released its sales results for2020. Amid the global spread of COVID-19, Chery achieved exports of 114,000 units, up by 18.7% year on year and ranking first among Chinese passenger vehicle brands for 18consecutive years.

Chery’s sustained development in overseas markets is attributable to its perseverance in globalization, the continuous expansion of its overseas product line and its cutting-edge technologies and outstanding quality, as well as the further enhancement of its brand image.

Star models draw overseas consumers

To further develop overseas markets, Chery has accelerated the launch of new products abroad since 2019. Chery’s star models, the Arrizo 5, Tiggo 5x, Tiggo 7 and New Tiggo 8, have been launched successively to draw overseas consumers.

Take the New Tiggo 8 for example. Upon its launch in Brazil in August 2020, the model was well-received by Brazilian consumers and professional media. In late 2020, it beat the Ford Territory and Jeep Compass to be selected as the Best SUV of 2020 by UOL, the authoritative Brazilian media group.

Super strong product power has boosted the brand premium of the new Tiggo 8 in overseas markets. In Brazil, the model achieved monthly sales of over 1,000 units only four months after its launch. A total of 11,443 Tiggo 8 SUVs were sold in overseas markets in 2020, up by 824.3% year on year.

Competing with international automakers through cutting-edge technologies and outstanding quality

The automobile industry is technology-intensive. To gain international recognition, Chinese auto brands should first reach the advanced international technical level and acquire market competitiveness through technology. Chery is gaining the strength to “go up” through persistent innovation. To date, Chery has applied for 20,794 patents and obtained 13,153, ranking firstin China’s auto industry. In terms of the composite patent index of ICVs, Chery ranks among the top 20 in the world andfirstin China.

Supported by its technical patents, Chery has rolled out a series of innovative products over the years: it launched a 1.6TGDI engine (one of the “China Heart” Ten Best Engines) comparable to luxury-branded engines, and a 1.5TCI+9CVT+48V light hybrid turbo charger system; it released the Lion 4.0 i-Connect System and Lion L2.5 intelligent driving technology for production models; it took the lead in the use of platform-based technologies by developing four product platforms– T1X, M1X, M3X and NEV; and it reduced its product development period from 46 months to 24 in order to deliver new products with the tide and meet customer demands.

Chery has gradually conquered demanding overseas consumers with its outstanding technologies and reliable quality. In Chile, Chinese auto brands represented by Chery have the strength to compete with transnational automakers from South Korea, Japan and other countries.

In Russia, Chery has become popular with local consumers and selected as the “Most Popular Chinese Auto Brand” many times. Chery currently has over 200,000 vehicles in Russia, ranking first among Chinese brands.

Over the last 20 years, Chery has exported outstanding products and advanced technology and management systems to foreign countries, actively fulfilledits social responsibility, built plants abroad and supported local public welfare undertakings including employment and people’s livelihood. In the global fight against COVID-19 in 2020, Chery delivered over 3.6 million articles of medical supplies and provided foreign countries with anti-epidemic experience and humanitarian aid.

At the 2020 Summit on the Global Image of Chinese Enterprises, advised by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), and All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and hosted by the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration (CFLPA), Chery was listed among the “2020 Top 20 Chinese Enterprises with the Best Global Image” (“Belt and Road” Edition), moving into the top ten along with enterprises such as Huawei, Lenovo and Alibaba.

In the meantime, Chery is stepping up its operations in global markets and establishing global R&D and sales service systems to support the localization of its products in key global markets.

To date, Chery has established five R&D bases, ten overseas plants and over 1,500 dealers and service outlets worldwide. Its total overseas production capacity has reached 200,000 units per year. In the future, Chery will further integrate its global resources and launch a global product development process to further enhance its global competitiveness.

Over the last two decades, Chery has achieved a fundamental transformation from “traditional trade” to “brand output”, and from the “globalization” of products to the establishment of overseas plants, introduction of culture to overseas markets and development of brands abroad. To date, Chery has exported over 1.7 million vehicles to more than 80 countries and regions throughout the world. Globally, Chery is now as famous as key transnational brands in many countries, becoming the first choice of consumers.