FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: Chery reveals flagship SUV
Exeed TX created for Europe but could spearhead return to AustraliaChinese car-maker Chery has pulled the drapes off a new concept for a flagship SUV it hopes will herald a sales breakthrough in Europe.
Called the Exeed TX, the new SUV was revealed alongside the Tiggo Coupe SUV coupe – a concept for a luxurious SUV coupe – at the Frankfurt motor show overnight.
Both are expected to come with either a traditional hybrid, more advanced plug-in hybrid or full pure-electric powertrain.
Designed specifically with European tastes in mind, Chery reemphasised that SUV and crossover models would spearhead a new sales assault on the European market.
Details were scarce on the entry-level hybrid engine, but Chery said the pure-electric version would have a range of more than 500km and the all-new plug-in would offer hot hatch levels of performance; the Exeed TX PHEV capable of hitting 100km/h in less than 6.0 seconds before topping out at 200km/h.
Thought to be capable of a pure-electric range of about 70km, the large SUV will average roughly 1.8L/100km when it goes on sale in the next couple of years.
Inside there's a large 10-inch infotainment display and Audi TT-inspired touchscreen temperature controls on the air vents.
It’s not clear where Chery plans to position its SUV in the market: whether it will be a natural rival for the Kia Sorento or Hyundai Santa Fe or whether it is aiming at more premium rivals from Volkswagen, or even Audi.
Question marks also hang over whether the SUV will be engineered for right-hand drive markets, like the UK and Ireland.
If it is, the new still-to-be-named SUV could potentially be sold Down Under if the Chinese brand fancies another crack at the Australian market.
Despite failing in the past to win the hearts and minds of Southern Hemisphere buyers, Chery remains one of China's largest car producers – racking up total sales of more than 700,000 vehicles last year alone.
Chery says with its new family of SUVs it wants to market itself as a brand that sells on its high standard of product quality aftersales support.
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