Chery to begin production of budget hybrid this year

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:02:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, China, Green, Chery

As it currently stands, gas in China costs about half what it does in most other countries, and the government spends billions to keep it that way. This being the case, expensive hybrids like the Toyota Prius don't sell in very large numbers. Still, there are a number of analysts who predict that gas will go up in China and that cheaper hybrids could begin to get a foot-hold in the Chinese market. To test the hybrid waters, Chery has introduced its home market to a new inexpensive mild hybrid built off its own A5 platform. Like some of the hybrids from General Motors, the A5 adds a belt-driven starter/generator that runs on just 12 volts and allows for stop/start functionality for its 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. Chery tested the vehicle during the Olympic games and is apparently now ready to begin selling its first hybrid to retail customers in China at about a third of the cost of the Prius. With pricing like that, the expected 10-15-percent gain in fuel efficiency could provide plenty of incentive to choose a hybrid.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Chery to begin production of budget hybrid this year originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Chery unveiling first mass-produced Chinese hybrid in Beijing

Frank Filipponio — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 16:28:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, China, Misc. Auto Shows

Can we call this a Chery bomb? Chinese automaker Chery just dropped a bomb on the 2006 Ninth Beijing International Auto Exhibition. According to Autoblog Chinese, Chery introduced a hybrid Chery A5 ISG. The A5 is one of Chery's more popular family vehicles. This will be the first hybrid to be mass-produced in China.

The Chery A5 ISG is a parallel hybrid, using the gas engine and/or electric motor to power the vehicle independenty or in unison. It will use an ACTECO1.3L 4 cylinder, coupled with their 519 5-spd MT gearbox. At low speeds, it will essentially be an electric vehicle, with the gasoline engine shutting down. When the vehicle hits higher speeds (usually reach 40km/h above), or senses the need for more rapid acceleration, the gasoline engine will start up and supplement the power.

Regenerative braking will also be employed to capture kinetic energy for conversion into electrical energy. No word on what type of batteries they'll use, which is a big question mark. We'll keep our eyes open for additional English information, as our Mandarin is a bit rusty.

[Source : Chery]

Chery unveiling first mass-produced Chinese hybrid in Beijing originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 Nov 2006 16:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments