The Chinese electric vehicle market is expanding daily, but it isn’t becoming any clearer. Almost every month, new brands appear, and the bulk of them are subsidiaries of EV manufacturers who already exist. Chery introduced two new brands, one of which already had its own sub-brand, thinking that it’d be a good idea to further the confusion.
The iCar
Starting with the news that has generated the greatest debate: the iCar. The iCar brand has been owned by Chery for some time, but it has traditionally been connected to quirky, little city automobiles. The business chose to change its approach after realising that the rivalry at the low end has become too fierce for it to generate respectable profits. The iCar is now being promoted as a high-end brand that stands alone from Chery.
The iCar GT is the first of two automobiles under the iCar brand. The genuine automobile, which will be revealed on April 18 during the Shanghai Motor Show, was merely shown off by the business in a design drawing. Two days before to the iCar GT, the public will be introduced to the second vehicle, a hard-core SUV with the moniker S56. We are eager to learn more about both automobiles.
Because the second brand isn’t really a brand, it’s a little trickier. Chinese automakers adore classifying their vehicles into series or families. Chery is no exception, and it established a new product called Exeed that is already selling a few vehicles.
Emphasising on Premium Vehicles
The brand is now again emphasising premium automobiles, although it does not provide electric vehicles.
In order to address this, Chery introduced the Sterra, a new Exeed sub-brand. The company also showed two electric vehicles that are ready for production and have some impressive specs. Both EVs have been assigned a 700 km range certification by the CLTC and are constructed on the 800V EV platform known as E0X.
With a length of 4.95 metres and a wheelbase of 2.9 metres, the Sterra ES is very much an electric sedan that is almost the same size as the Tesla Model S. Although the business withheld technical information, it claimed that the car can speed from 0 to 100 km/h in only 3 seconds. The car boasts a 700 km range rating, and the battery pack is provided by CATL.
On the other side, the Sterra ET is a high-end SUV. It has identical dimensions as well as the identical platform just like its sedan sister. While having the same powerplant, its size is likely to make it slightly slower.
This year’s Shanghai Auto Show appears to be packed with premieres, announcements from every significant EV maker, and the introduction of dozens of new models. As always, we’ll give you the most recent information as soon as it’s available.
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