South Africa-bound Chery Tiggo 9 Pro shows itself in China

Shown at the Beijing Auto Show in April, powered by a plug-in hybrid powertrain, Chery has divulged clearer details of its flagship Tiggo 9 Pro that South Africa looks set to get in 2025.

Already updated

On-sale from 25 September in China, the Tiggo 9 Pro, which had in fact been revealed as far back as 2022 but now benefits from a series of updates, rides on Wuhu’s ubiquitous T1X, but with measures of 4 820 mm in overall length, a width of 1 930 mm, height of 1 710 mm and wheelbase of 2 820 mm.

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Compared to the seven-seat Tiggo 8 Pro, the Tiggo 9 Pro measures 100 mm longer, 70 mm wider and five millimetres taller with its wheelbase receiving a 110 mm extension.

Although unveiled with the aforementioned plug-in hybrid powertrain Chery claimed allows for a combined range of 1 400 km based on the Chinese CLTC combined cycle, initial specification confirms an all-petrol line-up with a choice of five or seven seats.

Petrol or plug-in hybrid

According to Chery China’s website, the variants in question comprise three trim levels; Comfort, Luxury and Premium, all motivated by the same 2.0 T-GDI engine as in the Tiggo 8 Pro Max.

For the Tiggo 9 Pro though, the unit has been uprated from 187kW/390Nm to 192kW/400Nm, the same outputs sister brand Omoda’s incoming C9 develops.

In the Comfort and Luxury, the unit is paired to a seven-speed dual-clutch, whereas in the Premium, an Aisin-sourced torque-converter eight-speed automatic is utilised.

Regardless of the transmission, all variants, for now, are front-wheel-drive only.

As for the hybrid, the now familiar combination involves Chery’s 1.5 T-GDI engine being paired to a 19.4-kWh battery pack.

No combined power figures were revealed, although according to carnewschina.com, the claimed all-electric range is 106 km on the CLTC method.

Sending the amount of twist to all four wheels is the latest version of Chery’s three-speed Dedicated Hybrid Transmission (DHT).

Accordingly, a waiting time of 25 minutes from 30-80% will be required when using an AC fast charging outlet.

Notable spec

In terms of specification, all Tiggo 9 Pro models come standard with Matrix LED headlights, an electric tailgate, the dual 12.3-inch infotainment system and instrument cluster, heated and electric front seats, a 50-watt wireless smartphone charger, 20-inch alloy wheels, an eight-speaker Sony sound system, remote engine start and ambient lighting.

Taking care of safety is Adaptive Cruise Control, Traffic Jam Assist, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, Automatic Emergency Braking, Brake Override System, Traffic Sign Recognition and what Chery refers to as a 540-degree surround-view camera system.

Stay tuned

Priced from 155 900 yuan (R387 863) to 176 900 yuan (R440 109), the Tiggo 9 Pro’s South Africa significance goes further as it will also be sold by sister brand Jaecoo from the second quarter of next year as the six-seat only J8 in petrol and plug-in hybrid guises.

No further details about either model’s specification for the local market is known, however, expect more to become prevalent in 2025.

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