Chery’s Double T strategy: I got home last night after a long journey from Wuhu, and I am still abuzz from all the things I saw on a two-week trip that took in visits to several carmakers.
Among the highlights was the Zeekr 8X, a full-size SUV with a cool self-driving feature if your car is hemmed in by other vehicles in a parking garage – just wave at it and it pulls out for you to get in easily. The 8X also tilts upwards just before being struck in a side collision so the incoming vehicle hits the door and passengers are better protected.
And in Chongqing I saw Changan’s Nevo E07 – it looks a bit like the Cybertruck if the Cybertruck were an attractive vehicle – which can move sideways into parking spaces for those who have trouble with parallel parking.
But there was one potential future feature I am not so sure about. Chinese luxury brand Aito is evaluating whether to add a patented odourless in-car toilet beneath a seat.
Which brings us to today’s Auto File…
- Chery wants to be like Toyota, Tesla
- Stellantis to focus on core brands
- Beijing car show’s cheap Chinese EVs
Chery’s “Double T” strategy
China’s Chery has a remarkable story. It produced its first car less than 30 years ago in 1999 and sold 2.8 million globally last year.
BYD’s sales have grown faster, but Chery’s have quadrupled since 2020 and in March its Jaecoo 7 was Britain’s top-selling car.
In a sit-down interview with Reuters at its HQ in Wuhu, Chair Yin Tongyue says that for its next phase Chery wants to emulate the quality of Toyota and the innovation of Tesla.
Yin says Chery calls it the “Double T” strategy.
Chasing Toyota, the world’s No. 1 automaker, and Tesla, until recently the world’s No. 1 EV, speaks volumes about the likes of Chery and BYD as they target growth overseas.
Recommended reading:
- Iran war pushes U.S. car renters to EVs
- Tesla’s $25 billion spending plan
- EVs lift European car sales
Stellantis’ portfolio overhaul
Ever since Stellantis’ North American and European sales hit the skids in 2024 under former CEO Carlos Tavares, it has been under pressure to shrink its sprawling portfolio.
But as Reuters reporters Giulio Piovaccari, Nora Eckert and Gilles Guillaume report, sources say Antonio Filosa, who took over as CEO last summer, aims instead to keep all of its 14 brands alive while focusing most of its investments on just four – Jeep, Ram, Peugeot and Fiat.
