- Olga Kokorina
- Translated by Olga Apetenok
- Ru Fr He Ar
Exeed. Luxury vehicles according to Chery’s recipe
Major Chinese automakers currently tend to create more and more sub-brands following in the footsteps of the Lexus, Infiniti and Genesis brands formed by their parent companies. This is how Exeed appeared. It is one of the brands created by Chery. The new brand was necessary to separate modern advanced models intended for the luxury segment from the first not very successful cars, especially low-quality unpretentious sedans. Under the Exeed brand, Chery sells ‘elevated’ cars, both in terms of equipment and price. This is what ‘luxury vehicles according to Chery’s recipe’ look like. Currently, Exeed offers four models: compact, medium and long SUVs, as well as large ones. The vehicles are not only intended for China, but also for other export markets: Europe and Russia, which has already managed to appreciate the brand new cars.
The name EXEED is derived from the English word "to exceed". And that encodes the core values of the new brand: superiority, sophistication, intelligence.
Success prerequisites
Chery has invested heavily in Exeed. To increase reliability, the manufacturer used components from leading world manufacturers: specialists from the German engineering company Benteler helped with the creation of a modular platform and fine-tuning of the chassis. A suspension design engineer, Klaus Schmidt, who worked for BMW’s M “sports” division, and Peter Malkin, who gained experience at Jaguar Land Rover, took part in the finishing tests. Gearboxes were supplied by Getrag, multi-plate clutches were supplied by BorgWarner. The control electronics were from Bosch and Magna.
The corporate style of EXEED cars was developed by a team led by Briton Kevin Rice. This artist has worked for Italdesign, Opel, Ford, SAAB, BMW and Mazda. Kevin was assisted by Gert Volker Hildebrand, the author of the Mini model range. As a result, Exeed vehicles feature a well-recognized sleek design.
In addition, all models of the manufacturer offer good technical characteristics. While European manufacturers have adopted the concept of downsizing, the Chinese are not so fond of this trend. Yes, the Exeed models have turbocharged engines, but their power is impressive: the mid-size TXL received a 1.6-liter engine that produces 186 hp.
Downsizing means the reduction in size. In the modern world, almost all manufacturers began to use it, reducing the weight or volume of the product without reducing the price. In the automotive industry, engine downsizing refers to decreasing the size of the engine while maintaining its power. Such miniaturization of powertrains has many advantages. The compact motor acquires immense energy saturation and becomes more environmentally friendly.
Model range
Exeed TXL
The Exeed TXL is a mid-size 7-seater SUV with a body length of 4,780 mm and the wheelbase of 2,800mm. The equipment corresponds perfectly to the title of a top-of-the-range model: electric seats, dual-zone air conditioning, panoramic roof, electric windscreen and steering wheel heating, and numerous electronic driving assistance systems. The seven-seater TXL is equipped with the 1.6-liter engine with 186 hp, consuming 7.8 liters per 100 km in the combined cycle. The 7DCT300 robotic dual-clutch gearbox also contributes to this.
As for further development, there are plans to produce an electric version of the Exeed TXL in Uzbekistan, which is not even available in China. This is what the local company Central Asia Motors, which has built a car factory in Fergana, wants to do. The pre-facelifted TXL was chosen, and the SUV’s working title is the E-500. It is stated that the desired production capacity is 10,000 electric vehicles per year, of which 40% are to be exported. Part of the details will be assembled in the same place. In the future, it is planned to localize bodies, charging stations, components for batteries. Only time will tell how successful such an endeavor will be.
Exeed VX
In 2021, EXEED launched its flagship model for the export market, the Exeed VX full-size premium SUV. The vehicle comes with a 2.0-liter engine with a capacity of 249 hp. The SUV is 4,970 mm long, 1,940mm wide and 1,788 mm. The flagship model received a very attractive and richly decorated interior and high-end equipment: all intelligent and modern active safety systems are available. In October 2022, an even more luxurious configuration called the President Limited Edition appeared, which, in addition to some options, also differs in decor.
Exeed LX
The usual marketing ploy is to launch the most affordable model, in our case it’s the compact SUV Exeed LX, hitting the market later than its larger (and more expensive) “brothers”. The SUV appeared in 2019 and got the difficult task to stand out from the huge crowd of models of the same class. For this, the designers had to work hard: the exterior of the new SUV received the characteristics of the EXEED family, the exterior looks catchy, confident and fresh. The model is based on the Chery Tiggo 7: the vehicles have a similar body length of 4,533 mm and wheelbase of 2,670 mm. Under the hood is a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder TGDi turbo direct fuel injection engine, which produces 147 hp.
Future
AtlantiX concept car – production Yaoguang
The world hasn’t really had time to try out the existing model range yet, but one manufacturer is already preparing a new flagship and a new corporate image, which were first presented in the summer of 2022 when opening a factory in Qingdao. The AtlantiX concept car is based on the new M3X Mars 2.0 architecture. Body dimensions are 4,781 × 1,920 × 1,671 mm with a wheelbase of 2,815 mm: the new SUV will be larger than the TXL, but smaller than the VX. The production vehicle will bear the Yaoguang name and will become the brand’s flagship model. The vehicle offers a pair of separate 12.3-inch screens and an all-new pair of units. At the moment, it is known that the Yaoguang will receive a 2-liter turbo engine with a return of 261 hp and 400 Nm. It will be mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. The SUV will be equipped with the CDC adaptive electromagnetic suspension (installed for the first time on EXEED cars) and an All-Terrain all-wheel-drive system with a choice of 7 driving modes, including an intelligent off-road mode. Production will begin on November 18, 2022. Within two years, production capacity should be increased to 200,000 vehicles per year.
Exeed positions its models as an affordable alternative to European SUVs. And in some ways they are superior to proven brands. If their price in Israel is more attractive, it can be recommended to take a closer look at them, since the current Chinese models are much better than the previous ones.
