Chery Auto PH to receive sample EV units for testing

Chery International is sending a batch of electric vehicle (EV) units over to the Philippines for testing purposes. The company eyes to incorporate green power to its upcoming model offerings to provide its Filipino customers more energy-saving and sustainable vehicles.

This comes following the Chinese automaker’s successful launches of its mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models in the market. The company wants to take it further by adding another PHEV and two full EVs to its local lineup.

As shown in the photo provided to us by Chery Auto Philippines, it looks like they will be receiving units of the Chery eQ1 and eQ7, and what could be the Tiggo 7 Pro PHEV. It is quite easy to tell all three based on the body lines showing themselves despite the car covers.

The Chery eQ1 is a small 3-door hatchback that is also known as the Little Ant. It is powered by a permanent magnet synchronous electric motor that produces 40 horsepower and 120 Nm of torque with a range of up to 301 kilometers.

Meanwhile, the Chery eQ7 is the brand’s newest EV model, revealed earlier this year. This crossover EV is powered by dual electric motors with short and long range options. The former can drive for up to 412 kilometers while the latter can go up to 512 kilometers.

Finally, something more familiar to us is the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro PHEV. Probably to be called the e+ if it launches here, it’s essentially a plug-in hybrid version of the Tiggo 7 Pro that we already have in the market. Powered by the same 1.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine, the PHEV also gets dual electric motors. This produces a total output of 326 horsepower and 545 Nm of torque, with an all electric range of 80 kilometers. 

So far, Chery Auto Philippines has not given a timeline as to when they plan to introduce these models. With lots of brands adding EVs to their lineups, hopefully it won’t take too long.

Continuous Sales Growth

In a report released in early September, Chery Holding Group logged a total of 1,063,157 vehicle sales from January to August. This translates to a year-on-year sales increase of 42%, exceeding one million sales for the year.

One of Chery Group’s sales drivers is the Tiggo 8 with 21,369 units sold. Meanwhile, in the first half of 2023, Chery’s product sales in the Philippine market increased by 8%.