Chery pencils 2024 in for debut of Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8 PHEV

Revealed at its New Journey, New Life International User Summit in Wuhu two months ago, Chery South Africa has confirmed that its line-up of new energy vehicles (NEVs) will commence with the plug-in hybrid Tiggo Pro range in early 2024.

What to expect

Previously reported as being earmarked for introduction only in 2025, the pair of models comprise the Tiggo 7 Pro e+ and Tiggo 8 Pro Hybrid that have since gone on-sale in major export markets in Asia with others, including to Australia, following next year.

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Set to be joined on local soil around the same time by the all-electric Omoda E5 spun-off of the conventional C5, the plug-in hybrid setup combines the 1.5 T-GDI engine from the standard Tiggo 7 Pro and C5 with a pair of electric motors driven by a 19.27-kWh lithium-ion battery pack.

Power struggle

Paired to a unique transmission with three-speeds dubbed Direct Hybrid Transmission or DHT, the combined system output seemingly varies from market to market as the initial output mentioned for South Africa stood at 180kW/510Nm.

Based on global reports though, the system delivers as much as 240kW/545Nm while offering a range of 80 km, well down on the 110 km mentioned at the Wuhu showpiece.

Equipped with no less than nine driving modes, a theoretical range of close on 1 000 km is said to be possible with the combustion engine and hybrid system taken into account.

“Chery has outperformed the South African market consistently over the past two years, and we believe that we can further accelerate our sales performance by entering the NEV market,” Chery South Africa Deputy Executive General Manager, Tony Liu, said in a statement.

“As our short history in South Africa has shown, we do not simply enter a new market segment with a new model. We cannot wait to introduce [the e+ and Hybrid] in South Africa”.

Steeper price likely

A NEV range that will be expanded to four with the debut of the plug-in hybrid Jaecoo J7 from the third quarter of 2024, final specification, and indeed system outputs, of the Tiggo 7 Pro e+ and Tiggo 8 Pro Hybrid will only be announced in the run-up to the still unknown local launch date next year.

As a comparison, pricing for the Tiggo 7 Pro starts at R442 900 and ends at R609 900 for the newly introduced Pro Max AWD Executive, while stickers for the Tiggo 8 Pro, until the arrival of the all-paw gripping Max, range from R609 900 to R669 300.

Unsurprisingly, Tiggo 7 Pro e+ and Tiggo 8 Pro Hybrid will top their respective line-up, which will yield sticker prices of more than R700 000, the most of any Chinese vehicle excluding the all-electric GWM Ora 03 introduced last month.

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