Surprise arrival of the Chery-Smartmi iCar as a sub-brand of Chery
Meet the Chery-Smartmi iCar V23 electric SUV. Chery-Smartmi is a recently established partnership between Chery auto group, one of China’s largest car manufacturer, and Smartmi, a high-end consumer electronics subsidiary of technology brand Xiaomi.
It is clear that there are hints of the Land Rover Defender and also Mercedes-Benz G-Class in its design, however this iCar V23 is quite a bit smaller.
This SUV, set to go on sale in China in the second half of 2024 and it is sized at just 4220mm long, 1915mm wide and 1845mm tall on a 2730mm wheelbase.
In case you wondering how big or small it really is, the soon to be launched in Malaysia Suzuki Jimny 5-door is slightly smaller at 3820mm long, 1645mm wide and 1720mm tall while riding on a 2590mm wheelbase.
It has an approach angle of 43 degrees, a departure angle of 41 degrees and, in all-wheel drive guise, ground clearance of 212mm.
It’ll be offered with both single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual-motor all-wheel drive configurations with battery packs sourced from CATL, offering range of up to 500km and 400km respectively.
Zhimi Technology was established in June 2014 as a hardware company that designs and develops smart appliances and is one of Xiaomi’s ecological chain companies. The Xiaomi ecological chain is the collection of enterprises owned by the parent company Xiaomi. Zhimi Technology’s product offering covers air conditioners, air purifier systems, humidifiers, electric heaters, fans, air detectors, and anti-smog masks.
The news of Zhimi Technology entering car manufacturing was exposed as early as the end of 2021. At that time, 36Kr reported that the former head of GM Pan-Asia’s electric vehicle project joined Zhimi to take charge of the vehicle business along with many personnel from BAIC also joined Zhimi. And at that time, Xiaomi’s official response was: “Zhimi just formed a small research team out of interest in electric vehicles, and there is currently no detailed plan.
