Chery and BYD are making final preparations for a local onslaught

In the coming months, the marketing of the two Chinese car brands Chery and BYD will begin.

On the menu: gasoline and electric cars.

This is what we know about them

Kenan Cohen

03/08/2022

Wednesday, 03 August 2022, 07:33 Updated: 07:51

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Gasoline and electric models, the first wave of BYD and Chery products (photo: manufacturer website)

These days preparations are being completed for the arrival of two major Chinese car brands in Israel.

The first is Chery whose import franchise Carso Motors received.

The other brand is BYD, whose import to Israel is the responsibility of Shlomo Motors, a joint company of the Allied Group (the owner of Champion Motors) and the Shlomo Group, which already imports BYD's electric buses.

Not only do they share a common origin and the fact that these companies are of a similar size and with similar intentions to establish themselves in Europe in the coming years, these two brands also have a rather short local history of waiting for years to move from holding the franchise to actual marketing.

But when it comes to marketing in Israel, the two companies come with different approaches that are also reflected in their model offerings.

Chery models will mainly be crossovers (photo: manufacturer website)

Cherry's cherries

Unlike the vast majority of Chinese manufacturers that have entered Israel in the past and established themselves here such as MG and others in the last two years, Chery's supply at this stage will be based on gasoline-powered cars that have recently received European standards.

All three use a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine with 197 hp and 29.5 kg.

The gearbox is a double clutch with 7 transmission ratios.

The manufacturer has another gasoline engine, with a volume of 1.5 liters with mild hybrid assistance, 158 horses and a continuous box that may be added later.

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Cherry Omuda 5, at the base of the supply (photo: manufacturer's website)

The first of the Chery models is the Omuda 5, a relatively new model in the manufacturer's offering (introduced at the end of 2021) and with dimensions similar to those of the Nissan Qashqai and Toyota CHR.

The Omuda 5, like the other models, should come with a long list of accessories that will be one of the points in which it will try to entice the Israeli audience.

Among other things, it is a digital dashboard and a 10.25-inch multimedia system, a central mirror that is actually a camera, 360-degree cameras, a sun window, wireless charging, and more.

Above it will be the Tigo 7 Pro, the older one introduced in 2016 and similar in dimensions to Jeeps such as the Peugeot 3008 and Kia Sportage, except for an unusual height dimension of 175 cm. Here again, the intention is to place a relatively well-equipped vehicle with a 12.3-inch digital dashboard ', 10-inch multimedia screen, 360 degree cameras, electric trunk door, wireless charging, panoramic roof and more.

Tigo 8 Pro, with 7 seats (photo: manufacturer's website)

We have already revealed its flagship model, the Tigo 8 Pro, here before, it already presents larger dimensions, similar to those of the Mitsubishi Outlander and Tiguan Allspace and will offer 7 seats.

The third row seats get separate air conditioning outlets, the multimedia screen has increased to 12.3 inches, electric seats and more.

The models have not yet been tested in European crash tests, but as far as is known they will include automatic braking, lane departure correction including maintaining the center of the lane, adaptive cruise control and warning of a vehicle in a "dead zone".

The official start of marketing is planned for the last quarter of the year.

The BYD Tang EV, electric with 7 seats (photo: manufacturer website)

BYD is going electric

The second manufacturer that will arrive in Israel is BYD, as mentioned under the wings of "Shlomo Motors" in partnership with the Allied group and will start marketing its cars as early as next month.

Jackie Aviv, who until now managed the Skoda brand, will be responsible for the brand's activities in Israel.

In the first phase, the importer will open a website that will allow online purchases and at the same time four showrooms, the first of which will be in Petah Tikva and will be joined later by showrooms in Haifa (during September), Jerusalem (October) and Be'er Sheva (December).

Unlike Chery, BYD's cars will be electric only, at least initially and may be joined by plug-in cars.

At this stage, the importer is not revealing the names of the models it will import to Israel, but the manufacturer's offer includes three cars that are relevant to us.

Han EV, a large passenger car (photo: manufacturer's website)

The first model is the "Tang EV" a large crossover with a length of 487 cm and a wheelbase of 282 cm and seven seats.

According to publications abroad, it is offered in two drive configurations, one with a single electric motor and front-wheel drive with 241 hp and a senior version with two electric motors that provide 510 hp and an impressive acceleration for a vehicle of its size - 4.6 seconds to 100 km/h.

The declared range of its 86.4 batteries is 400 km and it supports fast charging that will bring it from 30 to 80% in 30 minutes.

The equipment, at least as shown on the manufacturer's website abroad, includes a 12.3-inch digital dashboard and a screen next to it 12.8 inch rotatable multimedia, leather upholstery, wireless charging, 22 inch rims, climate control and more.

The safety system includes automatic braking, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control and "dead zone" vehicle warning.

The passenger compartment of the "Han EV" (photo: manufacturer's website)

The second model of the manufacturer is a family with generous dimensions called HAN EV that was introduced in early 2020, here the size is 496 cm from end to end and a wheelbase of 292 cm.

As far as technical data is concerned, as is the way of Chinese manufacturers sometimes, there is no orderly and reliable source of information, but it seems that there are two versions - front and double drive.

The front one has a single engine with 241 or 218 hp, 7.9 seconds to 100 and with 85.4 kWh or 77 kWh batteries, claims a range of 605 km, but this figure is under the old NEDC measurement and not WLTP accepted in the industry.

The top version comes with two electric motors and dual drive, 487 hp, acceleration to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds and a range of 550 km, also here under NEDC measurement.

The SEAL, the talk is that it will compete with the Tesla Model 3. We'll see about that... (photo: manufacturer's website)

The manufacturer's third model is the SEAL, which is also the latest and was introduced in April this year.

This is a large family car with 480 cm and 292 cm in the wheelbase.

The base version with a single engine and rear-wheel drive with 201 hp, a 61.4 kWh battery, acceleration to 100 km/h in 7.5 seconds and a declared range of 550 km according to the old standard.

The long-range version with rear-wheel drive, 308 hp, 82.5 kWh battery will accelerate to 100 km/h in 5.9 seconds and with a declared range of 700 km.

In the performance version, the drive is double, the power is 523 hp, the acceleration is 3.8 seconds to 100 and the range is 650 km.

Unless we're all in for a surprise, prices aren't expected to be low, the price of the SEAL starts at $32,000 for the base version, about $7,000 less than the Tesla Model 3 SR and goes up to $42,500 for the long-range performance version.

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