Photo: Chery
Anyone selling cars in China has an eye on the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV. Despite being so small, the electric quadricycle is a success, something none of its competitors managed to repeat. Chery wants to put a fight against the tiny EV with a known name and a similar design appeal: it is calling its next car the QQ Ice Cream.
If you have never heard of the Chery QQ, more than 1 million people have around 100 countries. Its first generation was released in 2003, and GM accused Chery of copying the Daewoo Matiz, which later gave birth to the Chevrolet Spark. It is still produced either in its first and second generation in countries like Pakistan.
The QQ Ice Cream will try to build on the popularity of these predecessors to compete for the same buyers that made the Mini EV such a successful urban car. Chery is already taking reservations for it, and it is very likely that it also uses LFP (lithium iron phosphate) cells, which are cheaper and more resistant than ternary ones.
Chery said that the QQ Ice Cream would be the first car of the Chinese company’s eco-car brand. Originally, it was to be called the iCar. If Apple decides to release an electric vehicle – as rumor has it – it will have to choose a different name, though. It would not be unlikely that Chery sued the tech titan if it went with the obvious name.
Spy shots of the new Chery and stylized profile images of the vehicle show it is not only very similar to the Hongguang Mini EV: it looks like a copy, with a boxy body and tiny wheels and tires. If that is what Chinese buyers like about the competitor, Chery wants to make sure they also have it with the QQ Ice Cream.
For the Chery to be competitive, it will have to be similarly priced and present a range that is equal or superior to that of the Mini EV. Now that we know that Wuling makes only about $14 on each unit it sells, the task will be even more challenging for Chery. Counting that people will feel nostalgic about the name is certainly not enough.
The QQ Ice Cream will try to build on the popularity of these predecessors to compete for the same buyers that made the Mini EV such a successful urban car. Chery is already taking reservations for it, and it is very likely that it also uses LFP (lithium iron phosphate) cells, which are cheaper and more resistant than ternary ones.
Chery said that the QQ Ice Cream would be the first car of the Chinese company’s eco-car brand. Originally, it was to be called the iCar. If Apple decides to release an electric vehicle – as rumor has it – it will have to choose a different name, though. It would not be unlikely that Chery sued the tech titan if it went with the obvious name.
Spy shots of the new Chery and stylized profile images of the vehicle show it is not only very similar to the Hongguang Mini EV: it looks like a copy, with a boxy body and tiny wheels and tires. If that is what Chinese buyers like about the competitor, Chery wants to make sure they also have it with the QQ Ice Cream.
For the Chery to be competitive, it will have to be similarly priced and present a range that is equal or superior to that of the Mini EV. Now that we know that Wuling makes only about $14 on each unit it sells, the task will be even more challenging for Chery. Counting that people will feel nostalgic about the name is certainly not enough.
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