Chery’s electrified
Exeed TX SUV will hit European markets no sooner than 2020. According to the Chinese
automaker’s CEO, Chen Anning, Germany could be one of the first European
countries to welcome the Exeed TX, which was initially designed to feature
hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fully-electric powertrains.
The Chery exec also said that his company would soon
announce the construction of a development center near Frankfurt that would
have “several hundreds of employees,” reports Automotive News Europe.
In an interview last year, Chen stated that every
single model his company would bring to Europe would be “either micro-hybrid,
hybrid or plug-in hybrid,” while also confirming the presence of battery
electric vehicles (BEV) within the range.
Right now, the only confirmed model is the Exeed TX,
which made its debut at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show in plug-in hybrid guise.
This version employs a 12 kWh battery that offers an all-electric range of about 69 km.
Initially, it was thought that the SUV could be
launched in Europe as soon as next year, but now that date has been moved back
by at least a year. When sales do commence, the Exeed TX will be available with either a
six-speed manual transmission or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic as well as
all-wheel drive. We presume that, by then, we’ll also have some kind of info
concerning what other vehicles the Chinese automaker plans on selling in
Europe.
