Exclusive: Maserati Reportedly Adopts Chery Platform

Automotive Commune has exclusively learned that several European luxury brands will adopt Chery's E0X high-performance electric platform.

According to insiders, following the adoption of the E0X platform by the first SUV of Land Rover Freelander, the ultra-luxury brand Maserati and the premium brand Alfa Romeo, both formerly under Fiat, will also develop new energy vehicles based on the E0X platform.

Another source indicates that Chery's E0X platform and iCar are in negotiations for use by several European and Korean brands, with the aforementioned luxury car brands also in discussions with Chery. Therefore, details are unknown, "but Chery's platform and chassis technology are indeed gaining recognition from more and more overseas car companies."

With China's automotive industry achieving a "leapfrog" through electrification and intelligence, technology exports have become increasingly common. Besides strengths in battery, intelligent cockpits, and advanced driver-assistance systems, gaining overseas recognition through technologies such as engines and chassis platforms remains relatively rare.

Chery, which has been recognized domestically and internationally for its powertrain and platform technology since the era of fuel vehicles, is expected to amplify its strengths as the industry enters the "technology-driven transformation" stage. However, the new era emphasizes systemic operations, so Chery also needs to advance simultaneously in areas such as product planning, design, marketing, and channel development.

01Chery acquires Maserati? Maserati procures Chery technology!

An insider from Chery stated, "The European luxury brands starting with 'ma,' 'a,' and 'lu' are confirmed to use the E0X platform." According to informed sources, the first two brands are Maserati and Alfa Romeo, both of which have been rumored to be acquired by Chery this year, while the third brand is Land Rover, which has already announced the development of new cars based on the E0X platform.

In the first half of the year, there was news that the Stellantis Group hired McKinsey & Company in April to provide advice on the negative impact of U.S. tariffs on Maserati and Alfa Romeo. One of the options suggested by McKinsey was to spin off the related brands. Subsequently, there were rumors that Chery was interested in acquiring a European car brand and might be a potential buyer.

Although there has been no progress disclosed regarding Chery's acquisition of Maserati, the news that this brand and its sister brand Alfa Romeo might adopt Chery's platform technology has strengthened the connection between these European brands and Chery.

In 2023, Land Rover split into three brands: Range Rover, Defender, and Discovery. This year, they also jointly established an independent electrified vehicle sub-brand, Freelander, with Chery. The first model has the code name E0V, which is in line with the E0X platform, and is positioned as a new energy SUV with a length of 5.1 meters. It is expected to debut in the domestic market in 2026, before expanding to overseas markets.

In April of this year, Chery and South Korea's KGM (formerly SsangYong Motor) signed an agreement in Wuhu to jointly develop a mid-to-large SUV, with development expected to be completed in 2026. It is reported that the new model, also based on the E0X platform, is speculated by sources associated with Chery to possibly be related to the Fengyun T11.

If all the aforementioned reported collaborations are successfully implemented, it would mean that Chery, relying solely on the E0X platform, will export its chassis platform technology to automotive brands from Italy, the UK, and South Korea. The range of brands will extend from SUV specialists like SsangYong to high-performance vehicles such as Alfa Romeo, as well as luxury SUVs like Land Rover and ultra-luxury brands like Maserati.

At the end of 2023, Chery released the E0X platform, which was developed over four years with a total R&D investment of over 10 billion yuan. The platform is compatible with both pure electric (BEV) and extended-range (EREV) powertrains.

The first batch of E0X products includes two models from Xpeng Xingtu Xingjiyuan, the ES and ET, as well as the sister car Zhijie S7 of the ES sedan under Huawei's HarmonyOS Zhixing Zhijie brand. Initially, all the first batch products were launched only as pure electric models, but with the surge of extended-range models in the domestic market, the E0X platform's expandable capability allowed Xingjiyuan to quickly add an extended-range version, resulting in a significant increase in sales.

According to the Automotive Commune's inquiry into June retail sales data, Xingjiyuan ES sold 2,228 units last month, marking the fourth consecutive month with sales exceeding two thousand units. Previously, monthly sales were in the three-digit range, sometimes as low as one or two hundred units. Data from the China Passenger Car Association indicates that all 2,228 units of Xingjiyuan ES were range-extended vehicles, with no sales for the fully electric version. It is evident that the flexibility of the E0X powertrain is crucial in salvaging Xingjiyuan's sales.

The strong technical strength is also the confidence that enables E0X to be smoothly accepted by overseas brands and even recognized by ultra-luxury brands, which is closely related to Chery's consistent brand culture.

02Powertrain Output Specialist

After the electrification and intelligent transformation of China's automotive industry, the stigma of being "large but not strong" has been thrown into the Pacific Ocean, and technology exports have become commonplace.

Leading suppliers have already begun to make their way onto the procurement lists of overseas vehicle brands in large numbers, such as CATL representing batteries, and Huawei and Momenta representing intelligent technologies. Meanwhile, complete vehicle companies, as competitors of overseas car brands, are also being sought for assistance by their former "big brothers."

Apart from Chery, a number of Chinese automotive brands are also exporting technology abroad.

BYD assisted Toyota in developing the vehicle infotainment system for models such as the bZ3. The two parties will also engage in other collaborations, jointly developing electric vehicle and power battery technologies.

Geely provides the Xingyue L platform to Renault for the development of the next generation Koleos, and they are also cooperating in powertrain technology. After Geely acquired the Malaysian Proton brand, almost all new Proton cars are rebadged Geely models.

Volkswagen has invested in XPeng and adopted its platform and electronic architecture technology, resulting in the new CEA architecture based on regional control and quasi-central computing. A new car based on the G9 will also be launched.

SAIC's new platform and electronic architecture technology empower the Audi brand.

The Toyota BZ3X is derived from the GAC Aion Dragon King.

The Russian Moskvitch car brand has been revived, relying on JAC technology. It is reported that the Sehol X4 will serve as the prototype for the new car.

Ford once considered adopting Changan Automobile's platform and Blue Whale powertrain.

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Chery's achievements in the field of "technology export," although not widely known by the general public, are the most fruitful and are concentrated in the core areas of chassis platforms and powertrains.

For example, besides the E0X platform, the Chery iCar V27 platform has been adopted by the British company INEOS.

Headquartered in Switzerland, INEOS ranks among the world’s top ten chemical groups. Its founder, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is the richest man in the UK and once developed the Grenadier off-road vehicle himself after being dissatisfied with the discontinuation of the Land Rover Defender. The Chery iCar series is positioned as new energy off-road vehicles, which aligns well with INEOS’s interests.

In fact, Chery has long attached great importance to the research and development of platform and powertrain technologies, as well as the external output of related technologies.

Early technology development was inseparable from cooperation with foreign parties. Chery collaborated with Austria's AVL List to jointly develop engines, worked with the UK's Ricardo to develop CVT transmissions, and partnered with companies like Pininfarina and Magna to develop chassis platforms. Taking the CVT as an example, the original prototype came from Chongqing University of Technology. After Chery acquired it, they worked with Ricardo to refine it, and in 2009, it became the first independently developed CVT to roll off the production line.

As Chery establishes a complete forward R&D system, some rumors about the external transfer of its technologies have begun to surface.

In 2012, Chery and GAC signed a cooperation agreement. Although it eventually came to nothing and no public results were announced, insiders claim that the GAC Trumpchi GA3 is related to a Chery platform.

In 2014, Chery negotiated with India's Tata to consider exporting the Chery A1, Chery A3, Ruifeng M1, the older version of Chery QQ, including some idle platforms and several newly launched models.

After Chery made breakthroughs in the powertrain field and Jaguar Land Rover was sold by Ford to Tata, there was a temporary gap in platform and power technology. It has been rumored that the 2.0T technology of the Ingenium engine comes from Chery, but Jaguar Land Rover has categorically denied this.

At the same time, it is not uncommon for Chery models to be rebranded and sold in overseas markets. The Italian brand DR Automobiles is an example of Chery models being rebranded, serving as an early example of Chinese automobiles entering developed countries' markets. As early as 2006, Chery Automobile was selling in the Russian market under the Vortex brand name, with the Vortex Estina being a rebranded Chery A5.

The "reverse direction" of technology export is precisely a true reflection of China's automotive industry shifting from being large to strong. Taking SAIC, Chery, and SsangYong as examples, the changes in technology export relationships encapsulate the transformation of China's automotive status.

At its inception, Chery lacked the necessary licenses and once exchanged 20% of its shares with SAIC for certification, branding itself as "SAIC Chery." During the era of fuel vehicles, SAIC's technology still lagged behind that of overseas car companies. This was evident when it once acquired SsangYong, only to be "betrayed." Although SsangYong's assets went down the drain, SAIC's Roewe W5 SUV still drew from SsangYong Kyron. Moreover, the primary contributor to the surge of SAIC's passenger vehicles, the Roewe RX5, had its first-generation chassis related to the SsangYong Korando.

Nowadays, Chery provides platform technology to SsangYong, reversing the strong-weak dynamics, which objectively helps its elder brother SAIC save face and "take revenge." Meanwhile, SAIC's technology has been successfully exported to Audi's luxury brand, also winning glory for the entire Chinese automotive industry.

03"STEM men" cannot rely solely on technology and research & development.

From the perspective of the automotive industry's development path, the new era increasingly emphasizes overall progress and systematic collaboration.

Before 2010, "launch a sedan and it would become popular"; in 2013, the domestic "SUV craze" hit, "launch an SUV and it would sell well." However, in the context of consumption upgrading and industrial progress, the era of extensive growth has ended. The new stage requires automotive companies to be comprehensive, ensuring that every aspect—technical research and development, product planning, interior and exterior design, manufacturing processes, quality management, marketing and communication, and channel services—must be flawless.

"Chery has had only technology as its strong suit for a long time," an insider said. From its early days, Chery has placed great importance on technology research and development. Yin Tongyue, who started as an engineer at FAW-Volkswagen, has ingrained the engineer culture into Chery's DNA.

Later, with the joint efforts of Chen Anning and others in promoting the construction of a forward development system, Chery almost became the only domestic company in the era of fuel vehicles with "truly forward development capability." In contrast, the "forward platforms" of other independent brands can more or less trace back to some original or reverse engineering.

However, the prominence of strengths in technology and R&D cannot conceal the vulnerabilities created by other shortcomings.

The criticism that "Chery's vehicle designs are unattractive" has repeatedly surfaced. As early as the early days of the fuel vehicle era, it had become a joke that "Chery's vehicle designs had to be approved by government officials first." Over the following decade, Chery made efforts to transform its designs by hiring renowned overseas designers such as former Porsche designer Hakan Saracoglu, former General Motors designers James Hope and Steve Eum. However, despite these efforts, design remains not a strong suit for Chery in the era of intelligent electric vehicles.

In terms of sales and marketing, Yin Tongyue's personal brand has gained widespread recognition in recent years and has indeed contributed significantly to Chery's growth; the younger generation of management represented by Li Xue has worked diligently, resulting in remarkable empowerment for Chery.

However, Chery has been more defensive than aggressive in its marketing, and so far, misunderstandings such as the saying “Chery, Chery, lining up for repairs” have not been corrected. In reality, this saying originated because, in its early years, Chery lacked its own sales network and had few spare parts available, not because of poor quality.

In terms of brand premiumization, whether it was Riich twenty years ago, Qoros over a decade ago, or currently Exeed, success has been elusive. Zhonxing is also focusing on ultra-luxury products in the million-level range, which presents a significant challenge. Even Great Wall, the domestic leader in off-road vehicles, has only positioned the Tank 700 at the 700,000 yuan level; BYD's Yangwang is still in a breakthrough phase. Whether they can find their own "Schöckl Mountain" like the Mercedes-Benz G-Class is not only an urgent task for Zhonxing but also a crucial point for Chery's high-end breakthrough.

Chery, which focuses on technological research and development, is one of the representatives of China's dedicated automotive industry, yet it is also one of the representatives of "former underachievers." How to extend its strengths and address its weaknesses is a key issue for Chery, as well as a breakthrough direction for further progress in the Chinese automotive industry.