Chery cars have risen in popularity globally
The automotive world is forever changing with new vehicles from various manufacturers entering the market. Few have seen as much hype as Chery cars which seem to be enjoying some time in the limelight of late.
Chinese automakers are becoming increasingly popular around the world with the likes of Chery leading from the front. Over the last few years, the brand has made significant strides in improving the quality of vehicles and real innovation with battery technology for electric vehicles.
After a few successful years, Chery has become a mass-market, high-volume brand but how did it get there? Here is a quick look at the history behind the brand and how it grew into one of the leading budget car manufacturers.
Chery Cars Brand Overview
Chery Automobiles Co., Ltd. was founded in the eastern Chinese city of Wuhu, Anhui province, as a state-owned corporation in the mid-1990s. It was subsequently purchased by its present owner, Beijing Chery Auto Development (Group) Co., Ltd., which is headquartered in Jining City, Shandong Province.
Zhan Xialai, an aide to the mayor of Wuhu, and Zhou Biren, a manager at a government-owned building supplies firm, formed the company’s initial management team. They recognized that establishing a vehicle company may be a means to alleviate poverty in Anhui by generating income and therefore driving wider economic development.
Chery has a wide range of vehicles in their lineup which is marketed under several brand names including Karry, Rely, and Riich. The company also has a joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover to produce vehicles for the Chinese market.
When Was The First Chery Car Produced?
Manufacturing of the first Chery car started in 1999 with mass production commencing a year later in 2000. However, before producing any Chery cars, they had to procure and organise factories, tooling, a supply chain and other production equipment.
Biren flew to the UK in 1996 to buy engine manufacturing equipment that Ford had discarded. They also picked up tooling from Seat, Volkswagen’s Spanish subsidiary since the discontinuation of the Toledo. The construction of Chery’s factory started early in 1997 with the first Chery cars rolling off the production line at the end of 1999.
The first of many Chery cars was the Fengyun, which roughly translates to ‘wind cloud’. It was almost identical in design to the Toledo but it used various Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen components underneath. With revisions under the Amulet and Cowin names, Chery cars delivered a more distinct look. At this point, it seemed Chery was a car manufacturer through and through but the new company had forgotten about acquiring the relevant approvals and permits to sell its vehicles.
Since they lacked a government licence to manufacture cars, Chery was briefly under the SAIC Motor umbrella to receive its licence before becoming independent once more. In 2001 they could finally sell the Fengyun sedan which yielded a production of 28,000 for the year.
How Have Chery Cars Grown In Recent Years?
Chery continued to expand its range with low-cost models such as the Chery QQ. By 2007, Chery had grown into a local conglomerate with around 25,000 employees and vehicle sales exceeding 400,000 units. This included exports of 110,000 cars to emerging markets such as Russia, the Middle East and Latin America.
Chery’s sales were just 3,655 vehicles in 2003 but by 2009 they had risen to 467,000 vehicles. This made them the 26th largest automaker in the world and the fifth-largest in China. In 2010 they produced their millionth vehicle and by 2012 they were the 10th largest automaker in the world.
The company claims to have sold more than 960,000 vehicles during 2021 with almost 270,000 Chery cars exported to Brazil, Russia, Qatar, Saudia Arabia and Malaysia marking a 30% increase year-on-year. Chery only achieved this rapid growth by combining low-cost vehicles with a wide range of models along with expanding its international footprint.
The company has R&D offices across the world, including Germany, the United States, and Brazil, with a staff of 5500 people solely focused on R&D.
Chery Cars And Jaguar Land Rover
Today, Chery cars are sold in more than 80 countries and they’ve established several joint ventures in different markets including Malaysia, Iran, and Egypt. This includes established partnerships with several globally recognised brands such as Huawei and Alibaba.
However, the most notable is the 50:50 joint venture between Chery and Jaguar Land Rover. At a facility located in Changshu, they produce the Range Rover Evoque, Land Rover Discovery Sport, Jaguar E-Pace, and extended-length variants of the Jaguar XE and XF known as the XEL and XFL for the domestic market.
What Happened To Chery In Australia?
Despite impressive results globally, Chery wanted to get into the Australian market which many people regard as the stepping stone into Europe and America. With stringent regulations, strong competition, an established sales channel and mature customer expectations, it’s easy to see why Chery launched in Australia in 2011. They believed this could be a proving ground for the brand and launched the J11 small SUV and the J1 light hatch, quickly followed up by a larger J3 hatchback.
Since Chery is known as a budget brand, they focused on price without any real emphasis on safety. As such, the J1 was known as being one of Australia’s cheapest cars for just $9,990 followed by the J3 and J11. While they undercut competitors by some margin, they paid the price for compromising on safety and quality with the J1 being discontinued. It did not meet regulations that mandated stability control while other models had poor ANCAP test ratings. In 2015, Chery cars left Australia after selling just over 4,600 units.
What Are The Latest Chery Cars?
The majority of Chery’s current model range is comprised of SUVs, including the Tiggo 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8 (in ascending order of size), as well as restyled more upmarket “Pro” versions. In certain countries, the brand also offers the Arrizo 6 sedan.
Chery says that under its ‘Lion’ plan, all recently introduced models have been launched, signifying the company’s devotion to “Intelligent Driving, Intelligent Cloud, Intelligent Production, Intelligent Digital Marketing and Intelligent Travel.”
As for the South African market, the design, quality and feature lists on the available Chery cars are something to behold. While Chery is still more affordable than most brands, they are no longer solely focusing on price. Instead, Chery cars of today are of higher quality and with enhanced safety features across the board.
For more fascinating motoring content from around the world – read our blog and follow us on Facebook. In the meantime, take a look at the highly impressive Chery Tiggo 4 Pro, Tiggo 7 Pro or Tiggo 8 Pro.
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