Chery Auto To Relaunch In The UAE In July 2023 — First Product Will Be The Tiggo8 SUV

Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. is all set to launch its products in the UAE later this year. The Chinese automotive brand manufactures a range of SUVs, minivans, and sedans, and quite a few of them are expected to be launched in the UAE as well. The very first Chery product in the UAE market will be the Tiggo8 Pro Max.

Chery is a brand that was formed in 1997 as a state-owned enterprise and its first car was produced in 1999. The first car was called the Fengyun and was based on a chassis licensed from the SEAT Toledo. It is now over 23 years since the first car came out and Chery has progressed to become one of the largest Chinese car manufacturers in the world.

Chery currently boasts a total of 11.2 million customers and two million of them are from the several international markets that the brand is present in. Chery exports its cars to 80 countries around the world and currently has a total of 1,500 dealerships globally. With five major R&D centres located in South America, North America, China, and Europe, Chery has the capability to design and produce cars that are fit for the market that is currently being targeted.

Chery had previously entered the UAE market through its partnership with Al Habtoor Motors and had launched the Chery Tiggo7 in the country. However, this venture ended in 2020 and now Chery Automotive is all set for a relaunch. This time, the brand has bigger plans for the UAE market.

At a press meeting on 23 March 2023, senior leadership from Chery revealed a three-year product launch plan. The Chinese brand plans to launch both ICE-powered vehicles as well as PHEV vehicles initially and the transition to pure electric vehicles will happen eventually.

The Chery Tiggo8 will be the very first Chery product to be launched in the UAE this year. Debuting in July 2023, the Tiggo8 is a mid-size, three-row SUV and will be available in both ICE and PHEV variants. The ICE version is Tiggo8 Pro Max while the PHEV is named Tiggo8 Pro e+.

PHEV stands for Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle and the Tiggo8 Pro Max offers exactly that. It is powered by a combination of a four-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor supplemented by a sizable battery pack.

Chery claims the Tiggo8 Pro e+ can cover a distance of up to 75 kilometres in EV-only mode, which makes it a very capable commuter. Once you’re done with the commute and while out on the highway, the petrol engine can be activated in hybrid mode and this will give the car a range of almost a thousand kilometres on just one tank of fuel.

Chery claims an astonishing fuel efficiency figure of 65km/l in hybrid mode and 17.5km/l in petrol engine-only mode. How real these numbers are, is something we would have to test when we drive the SUV later this year.

The Chinese brand plans to launch the Tiggo8 Pro Max, Tiggo8 Pro e+, and then relaunch the Tiggo7 Pro Max followed by the Tiggo7 Pro Max PHEV. Towards the end of the year, Chery will launch the Tiggo4 Pro, Arrizo6 Pro, and Arrizo8.

2024 and 2025 will see new versions of the Tiggo8, Tiggo7, Tiggo5, and Arrizo6 arriving in the UAE. In addition, the Arrizo8 PHEV is expected to be launched along with three yet-to-be-disclosed models.

Chery is already operating successfully in other GCC nations like Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Now, the brand is relaunching in the UAE. New Chery cars will be available in the second half of 2023. However, if you are looking at buying one right away, here are a few used Chery cars for sale in the UAE.