Chery is closely monitoring the trends of the Chinese automotive industry and is preparing to introduce a new luxury electric minivan in the rapidly growing segment. The new model is currently known as the Exeed E08 and will debut as a concept next week at the Beijing Auto Show.
The well-known brand Exeed entered the Chinese market in 2018 and is positioned as a premium brand — a kind of Lexus from Chery. In its home country, Exeed has not yet gained much popularity, lagging behind more successful young brands in terms of sales, such as Aion, AITO, Lynk & Co, Leapmotor, Zeekr, and Nio. Last year, Chery decided to diversify the Exeed lineup and created a new electric vehicle lineup within it called Sterra, which currently has only two models — the Sterra ES sedan and the Sterra ET crossover, both based on the new E0X modular platform.
Outside of China, the Exeed Sterra models will be sold under the separate Exlantix brand, with Russia being one of the first markets for it, with sales set to begin next summer. Also, in China last year, the Luxeed brand was launched — a joint venture between Huawei and Chery with its own model lineup. The debut sedan, Luxeed S7, is also based on the E0X platform. Luxeed is not officially represented in Russia.
Today, the Exeed press service has sent the first photos of the conceptual minivan with the E08 index to Chinese media outlets. This is presumably the future third model from the Sterra/Exlantix lineup. The debut of the Exeed E08 will take place at the Beijing Auto Show, but unfortunately, there are no technical details available about the minivan yet, but it is likely also based on the E0X platform and has a fully electric powertrain.
The Exeed E08 has a sleek and aerodynamic profile with a monumental front end featuring elongated vertical sections of LED headlights and a giant trapezoidal illuminated pseudo-grille, similar to the Lexus LM grille. The rear of the Exeed E08 features intricate multi-level lighting, and the sides impress with giant rear doors providing access to two passenger rows of seats at once — such doors are unlikely to be seen on a production minivan.
The production version of the Exeed E08 will compete with popular electric minivans such as Li Mega, Xpeng X9, Zeekr 009, and the recently introduced LEVC L380. In the near future, the Sterra/Exlantix lineup is expected to introduce another minivan and two new crossovers.
