One Chery Drives Overseas Every Minute; Chengdu Auto Show Witnesses 'New Heights' for 'Global Cars'

By Kong Wenqing

When the lights at Hall 5 of the China Western International Expo Center turned on, a name rewriting the global automotive landscape shone brightly—Chery. On August 21, the first day of the 2026 Chengdu International Auto Show, this Chinese automaker declared with a shocking premiere titled 'China's Automotive Global Champion': Chinese cars are not only powering up in their home market but are also leading the race in the global arena.

One minute, 200,000 units, a brand new milestone for going global

Just before the auto show opened, Chery just released a performance report that caught the industry's attention: July exports broke 200,000 units for the first time in a single month, with a 'Chery-made' vehicle heading overseas every 16 seconds on average—this pace is almost equivalent to the time it takes for the audience to take a photo at the booth, several Chery vehicles have already embarked on their global journey.

Cumulative exports from January to July exceeded 1.14 million units, a year-on-year increase of 71.2%; cumulative global users broke through 20.16 million, including nearly 7 million overseas users. More worth noting is that in the first half of 2026, Chery's global sales share reached 4.1%, tying with Ford for the ninth spot globally, joining BYD and Geely to see the 'Three Chinese Seats' appear in the global top 10 lineup for the first time.

'Highest Globalization Content'—this label is being repeatedly verified: products enter over 130 countries and regions, with over 20,000 overseas employees and a localization rate as high as 85%. From revitalizing a national brand in Spain to completely retaining more than 690 local employees at the South Africa factory, Chery's 'going global' has long been more than simple vehicle exports; it is a comprehensive implementation of the industry chain, talent, and supply chain.

Global cars gather to make an appearance, every model is 'intensely competitive' to the extreme

Walking into the booth, 38 show cars and five brands share the stage, the heaviest hitter being the Fengyun T7, positioned as a 'Native Global Car'. Its answer is: Global quality is not 'a label attached after selling globally, but starts from the first day of product definition'.

To this end, Chery pre-researched global regulations two years in advance, benchmarked against the 2026 version of E-NCAP standards; delved into 5,000+ global users and 15 typical national scenarios for upfront requirement analysis; invested in 81 exclusive durability vehicles with cumulative testing exceeding 6 million kilometers; completed over 80 local adaptations for Thai right-hand drive preferences, Indonesian bumpy road conditions, European front-end parking habits, etc. European highways, Middle East high heat, Southeast Asia high humidity, Nordic severe cold—Fengyun T7 must satisfy all simultaneously.

The Fengyun A9 appearing on the same stage won the 2026 German Red Dot Product Design Award, becoming a footnote to Eastern aesthetics moving towards becoming global design trend definers. The all-new QQ3 Modern Edition was led by a domestic team that won four Red Dot design awards, integrating classic elements with intelligent electric era technology, with sales exceeding 10,000 for four consecutive months and breaking 10,000 in its first overseas month—the happiness of 1.6 million QQ users globally is spreading to more countries.

The debut Arrizo 7, with a 'Fluid Water Flow' design language, offers dual power choices of C-DM Super Energy Hybrid and Kunpeng Fuel Edition, launching an assault on the 'New Benchmark for Global Quality Family Sedans'.

Young people are 'redefining' Chery

Data better explains the change: among Fengyun A9 users, those under 35 account for 73.6%, and females account for 42.7%; young users make up 65% of Fengyun T7; among the first batch of all-new QQ3 deliveries, 20-35 year old users reached 41%.

Young people are voting with their feet. On the booth, post-95s and post-00s designers and engineers in the Fengyun A9 R&D team participated deeply, connecting with over 10,000 young users cumulatively over the full cycle, landing more than 330 co-creation sessions, and refining more than 7,800 valid suggestions. After the all-new QQ3's OTA upgrade, users developed more play styles themselves—remote control of courier services via APP, voice calls to create surprises, and automatic parking usage rate as high as 96.3%.

Marketing methods are also breaking boundaries: In July, Fengyun A9 crossed over into fashion with a 'Tech Aesthetics Show', and the initiated duet challenge made this coupe a street snap trend item. The 'Stunning Looks' theme day of this auto show further made the booth a spot for fashion influencers to check in and take photos—from free makeup changes to celebrity looks, to merchandise of celebrities like Yang Zi and Yu Shi, Chery is conversing with young people using young people's context.

Battery safety 'cannot be rushed at all', but hardcore enough to be 'stepped on'

The hardest core area of the booth belongs to the Rhino Battery 'Tech Ecosystem Island'. A battery stepping challenge was set up on-site, allowing audiences to personally verify the ultra-high strength of the 'Rhino Shield O-Grid Structure'. The exhibits were even more direct: After the cell bottom was extruded and deformed by 50% (3 times the national standard) followed by 3 needle pricks, no smoke or fire; 10 needle pricks (10 times the national standard) were equally safe; after the end-side extrusion deformation of 40% and full submersion in water, it still discharged stably.

Behind this is a system nearly 'obsessive': from the material end Rhino Crystal, structure end Rhino Shield, to the intelligent control end Rhino Cloud, building three lines of defense; designed according to the 2026 new national standard, five stages of demagnetization achieve level-hundred ppb magnetic foreign matter control (industry average 200ppb), level-hundred purification workshop reaches medical operating room standard; 8,000+ control points, 300+ quality gates, 20 years of big data traceability, covering the full lifecycle.

At the vehicle level, the Rhino Battery has endured a 95°C extreme temperature difference from 55°C high heat to -40°C severe cold; salt erosion strength is 1.7 times the national standard, collision is 3 times, scraping bottom is 4 times the national standard, cumulative verification exceeds 25 million kilometers. As of now, Chery has 71 models awarded global 5-star safety certification, ranking first among Chinese brands.

Technology 'showcasing their core capabilities', the moat gets wider and wider

The Flying Fish Digital Intelligence Chassis i attracted attention at its premiere—four-wheel independent wire-controlled braking, wire-controlled steering, hub motors, and active suspension integrated into a 4-in-1 intelligent driving unit, achieving lateral driving with 90° wheel angle, '0' meter turning for on-site steering, and highest over 90 km/h Moose test vehicle speed.

Lingxi Smart Cockpit Carmind large model first integrates the Doubao end-to-end voice model, with 550ms ultra-fast response, 3 seconds of patient listening without interruption, precise understanding of fuzzy intent, achieving 2,000+ in-car tool calls and scenario closure.

At the power end, Kunpeng Sky Engine reached the industry peak with 48.57% thermal efficiency (λ=1), matching the Golden Extended Range System with fuel-to-electric conversion efficiency exceeding 4.0 kWh/L. Axial flux dual motor power density reached 18.4 kW/kg, variable flux motor increased whole-vehicle high-speed range by 10%. Solid-state battery exhibit energy density reached 400 Wh/kg, while needle prick and electric drill produced no smoke or fire.

Setting off from Chengdu, Chery conveys a clear signal to the world: Chinese automobiles are becoming global champions. And this auto show is merely a wonderful moment on its path to accelerate running.