Chery presented the iCar energy brand. The SUV will be the first to enter the market

A few hours before the opening of the Shanghai Auto Show, Chery held its own presentation of the new iCar brand, created for the production of cars using alternative energy sources.

As part of the event, two new items under the new brand were shown at once: the iCar GT concept coupe and the iCar 03 SUV.

It is worth noting that now in the segment of new energy cars, Chery has two independent divisions at once – Chery New Energy and iCar Motors, which will work in parallel. By the way, Cao Xue, the chief designer of the Academy of Arts of the city, worked on the logo of the iCar brand Guangzhou. It was he who designed the mascot of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.

Before the official presentation, the iCar GT coupe was shown only in sketches. A "live" car in the form of a concept car was demonstrated for the first time. This version will not go to the pipeline. In it, the company demonstrates its new concept of "arc" design, which will be characteristic of the brand's future electric vehicles. The sports car received an aerodynamic silhouette, a "blind" radiator grille, T-shaped optics, guillotine-type doors and luminous wheels with reduced resistance to oncoming air flows.

As for the interior, since the iCar GT debuted as a concept car, you can see a lot of bold design solutions in its interior that will definitely not go into the series. For example, a "space" steering wheel in place of the steering wheel. Moreover, a virtual instrument panel is located right on the steering wheel. Electric car seats are also very far from the serial model. And the central dividing tunnel is made in the form of a hanging curved arc descending down to the pedals. In general, the only internal element that looks familiar is the large central control screen.

The Chinese company did not announce any technical specifications for the iCar GT. But there is evidence that the length of its body should be about 4.7-4.8 meters, and the wheelbase is 2.9 meters. It is also known that later Chery plans to launch the model into mass production.

With an electric SUV, the situation looks exactly the opposite. It has already been promised to be the first production model of iCar, which will enter the local market this year. It should be recalled that the exterior of the car was developed by Chery with the help of fans of the brand. She asked everyone to offer their own exterior options, and the best practices were supposed to be a source of inspiration for the brand's designers.

As a result, the car received a rather square body in the style of the Jetour T-1 SUV. It is characterized by straight window posts, unpainted plastic body kit and short overhangs in front and back. At the same time, the "all—terrain vehicle" from iCar boasts hidden door handles and very intricate optics, which is designed in the form of the brand's logo - the English letter "i".

It is known that the car will be equipped with a panoramic sunroof, a square storage box on the trunk door and an NFC key. The iCar company did not demonstrate the interior of the novelty, but it shared part of the technical data. In particular, the length, width and height of the electric car is 4200x1830x1700 mm, with a wheelbase of 2700 mm. It turns out that iCar 03 is significantly shorter in length than Tiggo 4. But on the basis it is almost identical to the 7-seater Tiggo 8/8pro.

It is also known that the car will be driven by an electric motor comparable in power to the output of a 2.5-liter turbo engine. And iCar Smart Cabin technology with more than 20 auxiliary sensors and 10 motion modes will be responsible for the intellectual capabilities. Such a set should provide the SUV with a level of autonomous driving equal to L2 +.

Russian prospects of iCar

As part of this strategy, at the initial stage, the Chinese company plans to focus on models with a rechargeable hybrid power plant. And then the focus of development will shift towards electric cars. And already in 2025, up to a quarter of all brand cars sold in the Russian Federation should be powered by new energy sources.

Based on this, it can be assumed that iCar models can also reach Russia in the future.

A souce: https://китайские-автомобили.рф/2023/04/17/chery-icar/