Chery Automobile Company has confirmed plans to invest 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in China over the next five years to enhance the competitiveness of smart electric vehicles (EVs) as part of the Yaoguang 2025 program.
The company also plans to build six new research and development (R&D) centers in China, Europe, the United States, South America and India during this period, according to local reports, to employ a total of 20,000 engineers. said that
Chery said it is increasing investments to enhance its 13 core technologies, including vehicle platforms, smart cabin features, connectivity and smart/autonomous driving.
The automaker plans to develop three new EV platforms, including one for premium vehicles, and says the first model will go on sale in September 2023, rivaling Tesla’s offerings. . The new vehicles will be sold under the new iCar New Energy Vehicle (NEV) brand, which had set a sales target of one million units per year.
Chairman Yin Tongyue described the Yaoguang 2025 program as a new initiative aimed at “transforming automakers into global technology companies.”
According to local reports, Chery’s global sales reached 749,000 units in the first eight months of 2022.
The company recently discussed plans to build a US$1 billion EV plant in Indonesia with an annual capacity of 200,000 units.