Archive for Chery

Just like the Chery QQ’s evolution is theChery QQ6, Chery has redone their Chery Tiggo and updated it as the Chery Tiggo6. It looks more modern than the Chery Tiggo that has just reached our shores this month, and doesn’t look so much like a cross between a CR-V and a RAV4 anymore.

The Chery Tiggo6 has permanent all-wheel drive instead of a 2WD system or a 2WD-4WD-low ratio switchable system, and features Chery’s range of AVL-designed ACTECO engines including a Euro 5-compliant 1.9 liter turbodiesel. This means specs-wise, the Chery Tiggo6 is ready to take on Europe, pretty good for a company that not too long ago was just doing clones of Daewoo vehicles.

More photos after the jump.

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For a 1.6 liter Chinese-made sedan to keep up with a Ferrari F430 on the track could only mean there is some huge difference between driving ability of the two drivers biased to the driver of the Chery, but let’s just have a look at this video anyway.

Click here to read the rest of Chery Windcloud vs Ferrari F430

The Chery T11 Tiggo is now available in Malaysia for a sum of RM80,292. While it looks much like a combination of the second generation Toyota RAV4 rear and the 2nd gen Honda CR-V and Naza Sorento’s front, the chassis is not carried from either vehicles.

Chery’s local distributor Alado says the T11 Tiggo sold here is powered by a Mitsubishi-based engine, but I did some research online and was confused by what I found. The Chery T11 Tiggo is available in other markets with two 2.0 liter engine options - one is a 1,997cc Mitsubishi 4G63 engine making 123 horsepower and 170Nm of torque. The other is powered by a Chery-designed ACTECO engine codenamed SQR484F which was developed by Austrian firm AVL. [Source] This engine family has also been commissioned by other automakers like Fiat, which will use the 1.6 liter and 1.8 liter ACTECO engines in it’s China-produced cars.

The Chery ACTECO SQR484F is a 1,971cc DOHC engine with a 10.2:1 compression ratio and produces 129 horsepower at 5,750rpm and 180Nm of torque at 4,000rpm, which matches the specs Alado quoted for our local Tiggo. [Source] In the Chery T11 Tiggo’s application, the engine is only available with a 5-speed manual at the moment.

Some basic specs - 5 seats, 2WD drivetrain, 3-spoke steering wheel, dual SRS airbags, CD player, heated front seats, antilock brakes, electronic brake distribution, and power steering. The rear hatch is of the side-hinged design, which Honda recently abandoned with the new 3rd generation Honda CR-V.

At RM80k, the Chery T11 Tiggo is a reasonably attractive SUV that manages to keep the price down with equipment levels that are only the necessities - not many people require 4WD. I’m not quite sure at this point whether the Tiggo is a CBU import or locally assembled. There was previously talk about having the Tiggo assembled at either Oriental Assemblers in Johor or at one of Proton’s plants - but I am not sure if this has happened or not.

Related Posts:
Fiat to use Chery’s AVL-designed ACTECO engines
Chery Tiggo coming to Malaysia
Chery recalls Chery T11 Tiggo SUVs
Chery V5 Crossover MPV
Proton to produce MPV and SUV with Chery

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Tan Sri Cam Soh, group executive chairman of Chery’s local partner Alado Corporation Sdn Bhd says Proton and Chery are expected to start their CKD program by mid-2007. The CKD program will involve Proton assembling Chery vehicles in Malaysia using Proton’s Shah Alam assembly facilities. The models in question are the Chery B14 MPV and the Chery Tiggo T11 SUV. It is said that Chery wants to make Malaysia it’s right hand drive market assembly and export center. A similar agreement is working well between Naza and Hafei, with Naza handling the right hand market for the Hafei Lobo with it’s reengineered Naza Sutera.

Proton’s agreement with Chery and Alado was previously extended in December 2006 to 28th February 2007. There is another agreement, one between Proton and Mitsubishi, that is set to expire on 2nd February 2007. We should know the outcome of that particular agreement soon. Look at the related posts for more information on the two Chery models to be assembled in Malaysia.

Related Posts:
Proton to product MPV and SUV with Chery
Chery Tiggo (Chery T11) coming to Malaysia
Chery V5 Crossover (Chery B14) MPV

After news of talks between Chrysler and Chery surfaced in May last year, Chrysler group CEO Tom LaSorda has finally signed a letter of intent with Chery Automobile Co to develop a small car for the group, but this is pending approval by DaimlerChrysler supervisory board, which will meet this month to discuss the matter. Other partners which were considered were Mitsubishi Motors Corp, and Hyundai Motor Co Ltd, but it is Chery who managed to clinch the deal in the end.

The collaboration is expected to be approved by the DCX board, and manufacturing will soon begin, according to Chrysler spokesman Jason Vines. It is not known for now Which badge under the Chrysler group will appear on the grille of this new small B-segment car, but the logical choice would be Dodge, the group’s value brand. Chrysler previously exhibited a concept small car, the Dodge Hornet, an aggressive-looking muscular small car, but the new compact from the Chery-Chrysler collaboration will not be the Dodge Hornet.

The car is expected to be built in China, as Chrysler says it cannot profitably produce a small car in the US. Chrysler has been in talks with Chery for nearly a year before this agreement was reached. More details will be released in a month’s time or earlier. The new small car will compete against the Toyota Yaris, Chevrolet Aveo, Honda Fit and Nissan Versa in the United States. It will also be sold in Canada, Mexico, Europe and possibly China. While this is a start for Chery’s involvement in the US market, but it is still keen to export it’s own cars under it’s own brand to the US as the small car will not be Chery-branded.

2006 was not a good year at all for Chrysler dealers in the US. The company kept cranking out minivans, medium to big cars and SUVs throughout the whole summer despite warnings and suggestions by dealers against the move. Chrysler just went on and on with overoptimism fueled by the success of the Chrysler 300. Despite employee pricing sales incentives and other promotions, dealers choked on inventory and floorplan bills skyrocketed with dipping sales. The Chrysler group posted a US$1.48 billion loss in the third quarter 2006. Will this new small car give Chrysler and it’s dealers a much needed boost? And even if so, what is Chrysler going to do with it’s sales bank of unsold cars? Instead of slowing down production when demand dropped, production was kept at full capacity, and now unsold Chrysler cars are just lying around in storage areas. Sound familiar?

Check after the jump for an interview with Tom LaSorda.

Related Posts:
2006 Dodge Hornet Concept
Dodge Attitude

Click here to read the rest of Chrysler and Chery sign small car letter of intent

Chery Automobile Co. Ltd has shown signs of being a responsible car manufacturer that intends to stick around, rather than taking the “make fast profits and ignore issues like brand building and after sales support” approach that many others have adopted with their shitty deathtraps.

A recall notice has been issued for the Chery T11 Tiggo SUV, a unique visual blend of the 2nd generation Toyota RAV4 and the 2nd generation Honda CR-V which uses Mitsubishi 2.0 and 2.4 liter engines. The recall affects 1,875 of the Chery Tiggo SUVs with automatic transmissions, of which 80 are for the export market. The faulty component involves a fan controller which needs to be repaired. The faulty fan controller might cause engine failure, likely due to overheating.

Related Posts:
Chery Tiggo (Chery T11) coming to Malaysia

Malcolm Bricklin, who wanted to bring in Chery vehicles into the USA via his company Visionary Vehicles has abandoned his plan, some say because of the news of Daimler Chrysler talking to Chery to produce a small car for them - i.e.: the Dodge Hornet. But the actual story was Chery and Bricklin could not come to an agreement of how to use a US$200 million seed by billionaire George Soros. Malcolm Bricklin has been known to be the one who is daring enough to bring foreign auto brands into the US, some of his better stories have been Subaru, and his worst is likely Yugo.

However, Chery officials have said it still has plans to enter the US market, and Chery suppliers have confirmed that Chery is talking with several potential investors about developing and selling a Chery-branded car in the United States (which isn’t exactly what Mr. Bricklin intended - he wants the cars to be badged Visionary Vehicles), though an agreement is not likely to be reached anytime soon.

Shown above is Chery’s recent Chery A3 concept car, with one more photo of it after the jump.

Related Posts:
Chrey to build Dodge subcompacts for DCX
Chrysler to pick sub-compact partner by year end
Chery to build small car for Chrysler

Source

Click here to read the rest of No more Chery Visionary Vehicles for the US?

Fiat and Chery have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will result in Fiat using Chery’s ACTECO family of engines in it’s China-produced cars, with a possibility of the ACTECO engines finding it’s way in Italian models like the Bravo.

The deal involves Chery’s 1.6 liter and 1.8 liter ACTECO engines, though the ACTECO family has a wide range of displacements and configurations, from a tiny 0.8 liter to a huge 4.0 liter V8.

The ACTECO family of engines was developed by AVL, an Austrian-based automotive consulting firm. Despite the negative stigma surrounding China products, the ACTECO family of engines is actually quite modern, incorporating aluminium alloy cylinder blocks/heads and direct fuel injection, complying with Euro IV emission standards.

Pictured on the left is the ACTECO 1.8 liter DOHC turbocharged engine. With a bore of 81mm and a stroke of 87.2mm, the long stroke turbocharged engine makes 180 horsepower at 5,750rpm and a very healthy 250Nm of torque at 4,300rpm.

Source

Related Posts:
Chery and Fiat in talks

Chery Automobile’s latest ally to be in the automotive industry might just be Fiat. Fiat has an existing alliance with a Chinese auto manufacturer - Nanjing Automobile Group, but that partnership has been far from profitable so far. One option being discussed would be Chery making cars using Fiat technologies and selling them.

That sounds wonderful, give Chery access to your technology Fiat, and perhaps the next Chery QQ will look like a Fiat Punto.

Source

Chery Automobile Co., Ltd, J&K Technologies Inc and Tsinghua University has developed a hydrogen fuel cell car which can reach a top speed of 80 km/h and like a traditional hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, emits no exhaust fumes other than water vapor.

The joint venture has announced that the car was developed entirely on their own, and China now has fully independent intellectual property rights to a fuel cell vehicle. But then again, considering Chery’s definition of intellectual property… hmm.

Think we’ll be seeing a fuel cell Chery QQ soon?

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