Others Launch New Cars in 18 Months, Chery Takes 5 Years to Perfect One: Is "Slow" a Competitive Advantage?

“We planned for two years, developed for three years, to create the Fengyun T7 global pure electric SUV. A global car cannot be rushed; it requires slow work for fine results.”

On August 12, these words by Li Xueyong, Executive Vice President of Chery, at the Fengyun T7 pre-sale launch event, sounded somewhat "out of place" in the current Chinese automotive context.

18 months to launch a car has become industry standard

In the traditional fuel vehicle era, developing a new model usually took 3 to 5 years. Now, 16 to 18 months is the norm in China, some even 12 months. Industry average dropped from ~60 months to ~24 months.

"Fast" became the core competition dimension. In 2025, over 230 new cars launched densely. Toyota, Nissan, etc., express looking up to China, shortening R&D cycles.

But the cost of "fast" is showing. In the first 11 months of 2025, EV iteration dispute complaints surged nearly 82 times YoY, about 39,300 cases. Some brands compress cycles, deleting validation projects, putting users at risk.

In this context, controversy over "quick-build cars" came to the forefront. Xinhua News Agency issued a warning on quick-build cars, sparking online debate.

Chery's choice was to simply slow down.

Where did Fengyun T7's 5 years go?

Fengyun T7 started pre-research in 2022, polished for nearly 5 years—2 years planning, 3 years forward R&D.

Li Xueyong said: "These 4 years of Fengyun T7 spent on three places that cannot be fast—R&D cannot be fast, products need repeated polishing; Validation cannot be fast, reliability needs real scene testing; Global user co-creation cannot be fast, need to hear voices from different markets."

Let's look at R&D first. Fengyun T7 is not "domestic exclusive", but a global model developed according to global standards from the start. Chery ranks first in Chinese brand passenger car exports for 23 consecutive years, global users exceeding 20 million. Behind Fengyun T7 are 8 global R&D design centers collaborating, 5000+ global users in surveys, 15 typical countries visited deeply. Body uses 80% high-strength steel, 18.84% hot-formed steel, 9 cross 5 longitudinal cage body structure, benchmarking 2026 E-NCAP 5-star safety standards design, functional safety reaches ASILD highest level. These parameters are not drawn on PPTs, but built line by line of code and collision simulations by engineers.

Look at validation. 81 dedicated durability test cars on-road test simultaneously, total vehicle cumulative mileage over 6 million km, durability special test 1.45 million km. Test environments cover SE Asia rainy season, Middle East high temp exposure, Indonesia high humidity, etc. Covers 95% of global road types—Brazil high speed bump, Mexico cobblestone road, Germany highway high curvature bend, South Africa unpaved muddy road. Global environment adaptation range covers minus 40°C to 55°C.

What is the concept of 6 million km? 150 circles around the earth. If the pace of one car in 18 months, these validations would not be finished.

What comes out of "slow"?

When Fengyun T7 started pre-sale at 109,900 RMB to 129,900 RMB, many found this "slow" built car has no "slow" in product power.

Standard equipment 65.05kWh Rhino Battery, CLTC range all locked at 600km, actual test 667km+. In 100,000 RMB level pure electric SUV market, many competitors use low range version to lower starting price, consumers wanting "enough" range have to add money for high spec. Fengyun T7 directly cancelled this "choice anxiety".

Safety level, 9 airbags, including 48L dual chamber far-end airbag and rear side airbag. Rhino Battery IP68 waterproof reaches national standard 96 times. Chery also promises: If battery itself causes thermal runaway damage, compensate with same model new car. This "backing" posture is rare in the industry.

Intelligence aspect, 4nm process Qualcomm SA8775 Cockpit Driving integrated chip, 72 TOPS computing power, 15.6 inch 2.5K large screen. Falcon 500 Driving assistance system equipped with 22 high precision sensors, supports 300+ scenarios automatic parking. These configurations placed in 100,000 RMB level, competitiveness is real.

Behind these product powers is 2 years planning, 3 years forward R&D investment. In other words, Fengyun T7 did not "steal time" in any key link.

When everyone rushes forward, isn't the person who dares to stop and fix the road more worthy of respect?

Fengyun T7's most special place is its launch path—run around the globe first, then return to domestic. Homologous model Lepas L6 has pre-sold in South Africa, launched in Thailand, next enter EU, Aus/NZ, UK, etc. markets. This is not a car made in domestic first then try to sell abroad, but a product from project initiation that followed global standards, validated around the globe, and returned to domestic with real feedback from overseas markets.

Southeast Asia rainy season forced engineers to consider water wading and sealing, Middle East exposure tested material aging and infotainment system cooling, Nordic low temp amplified thermal management issues. World's complex road conditions and extreme climate, pre-check problems for Chinese consumers. Use time to exchange reliability, use global validation to exchange user trust—this is "slow" commercial value.

Writing at the end:

Back to the initial question.

Industry average development cycle compressed from 60 months to 24 months, some brands take 18 months even 12 months as normal, Chery uses 5 years to polish one car, is this "falling behind the pace"?

Answer perhaps depends on how you define "competitiveness".

If competitiveness equals "speed to seize market window", then 5 years is indeed too slow. But if competitiveness equals "reliability of a car after 10 years". 5 years, might be just right.

In this era where "speed is invincible", Fengyun T7 itself is an attitude.

And attitude, sometimes is the hardest competitiveness.