Chery plans Australian R&D centre for growing brand lineup

Chery plans to establish an Australian research and development (R&D) centre to help adapt vehicles across its expanding range of brands to local conditions.

Speaking to Australian media, including CarExpert, in China, Chery International president Zhang Guibing said the company wanted more local input because Australian driving habits, roads, and weather differed from those in China.

Mr Zhang was asked whether the centre would focus on the group's incoming premium brands.

“I think that the local R&D will cover any brand if really we are willing to launch into Australia,” he said. "But before launching we will do many different analyses."

Chery International executive vice president Chen Chunqing said the planned centre would work on new products, including utes such as the Stockman.

The executives didn't disclose a location or opening date for the centre, nor how much of an investment is planned. They also didn't confirm whether Chery would establish its own Australian proving ground, like Ford has with You Yangs and Holden had with Lang Lang, the latter of which was subsequently used by rival Chinese automaker GWM before its sale to a defence contractor.

Chery is already working with Australian engineering firm Premcar on testing and validation of the Stockman's ride and handling. The Melbourne-based company is also responsible for Nissan's Navara and Patrol Warrior models.

The Premcar partnership was announced in August. Chery Motor Australia chief operating officer Lucas Harris said at the time:

“This partnership is another example of Chery investing locally to develop vehicles specifically for Australian drivers.”

The Stockman diesel plug-in hybrid (PHEV) remains on track for Australian deliveries from February 2027. Its chief product manager, Mark Qi, recently told CarExpert that further local testing would focus largely on software, including driver-assistance systems and electric power steering.

Mr Qi explained the instructions he had given the engineers working on its advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).

“For the ADAS, I told our engineers: don’t use your Chinese way of thinking. Think about Australian people’s habits and the road conditions in Australia.”

Chery's local development work has also addressed criticism of the active safety systems in its SUVs. In May 2025, CarExpert joined the Tiggo 7 PHEV's Australian validation program, where engineers were refining how its lane-support functions responded to different road widths and markings.

That included changing the system's response on narrow lanes, so driving close to a kerb didn't automatically prompt an unwanted steering intervention. Local feedback was sent to engineers in China, with revised software assessed again on the same test route.

The proposed centre comes as Chery prepares to introduce a much broader range of vehicles here. Luxeed is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2027 with the LLounge people mover, while Freelander, Exlantix, iCaur, and Jetour are also preparing Australian launches during 2027.

They'll join Chery's namesake brand here, plus Omoda Jaecoo, with deliveries of Lepas vehicles due before the end of 2026.

One of those incoming brands, iCaur, has outlined the Australian testing already completed for its V25 electric SUV, due here in early 2027.

“The V25 BEV's road testing in Australia is finished,” iCaur Australia product manager Derek Tian told CarExpert.

“For identifying small issues, 30,000km. For ADAS and APA, 15,000km,” he said of the program, with the latter figure covering driver-assistance and automatic parking systems.

Chery has also announced a UK R&D Centre of Excellence at the UTAC Millbrook proving ground in Bedfordshire, scheduled to open in late 2026. Its initial work will cover chassis dynamics and driver-assistance calibration for UK-market vehicles.

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