Chery Tiggo 7 PHEV, Tiggo 8 PHEV open for booking – 95 km EV range, 1,200 km total; launching soon?

Continuing a months-long teaser campaign, Chery Malaysia has at last opened the order books for the Chery Tiggo 7 PHEV and Tiggo 8 PHEV, hinting at an impending launch. The two plug-in hybrid SUVs utilise the Chery Super Hybrid (CSH) powertrain that was launched here (the CSH brand, not the cars) in July.

Essentially identical to the Super Hybrid System (SHS) in the Jaecoo J7 PHEV, the Chery models use the same building blocks, centred around a 204 PS/310 Nm electric motor integrated into a single-speed dedicated hybrid transmission (DHT150). This is juiced by an 18.3 kWh BYD Blade lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery that delivers a pure electric range of 95 km.

A 143 PS/215 Nm 1.5 litre hybrid-specific turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine essentially functions as a range extender; it can also clutch in to drive the wheels directly at higher speeds where it is more fuel efficient, similar to Honda’s e:HEV hybrids (save for a much larger battery). With a 60 litre fuel tank, the Chery PHEVs are quoted to have a total range of 1,200 km on the NEDC cycle.

Chery claims a fuel efficiency figure of 1.3 litres per 100 km with a full battery charge, and even when the battery dips below 25% charge – which is when the engine engages to extend the cars’ range – consumption only rises to 4.9 litres per 100 km. Both models support up to 40 kW of DC charging, taking 19 minutes to charge from 30 to 80%; AC charging at up to 6.6 kW, meanwhile, charges from 30 to 80% in three hours using a wallbox, or 8.5 hours (10 to 100%) through a domestic socket.

The company is keen to emphasise the IP68-certified battery’s durability – besides being dust- and water-resistant, and capable of withstanding up to 95 degrees Celsius, the 18.3 kWh LFP battery was recently submerged in a metre-deep tank of seawater for over 53 hours before being reinstalled into a Tiggo 8 CSH (and it still worked) as part of a test in Jakarta.

Earlier in China, the Tiggo 9 PHEV CSH vehicles endured a series of extreme safety tests, including spiral rollovers and head-on vehicle collision, a seven-car stack test, 55 km/h side intrusion, a 4.9-metre vertical drop, and 720 hours of salt spray exposure.

Like their Pro-badged siblings, the Tiggo 7 PHEV and Tiggo 8 PHEV are built on the T1X platform and share the same basic structure, with the main difference being that the longer Tiggo 8 seats seven. Compared to their petrol-powered brethren, both cars feature unique front fascias, with the Tiggo 7 PHEV also gaining a new rear end; the Tiggo 8 PHEV instead gets flush pop-out door handles.

Inside, the Tiggo 8 PHEV benefits from a new dashboard that takes cues from newer Chinese models, including dual smartphone holders and a steering column-mounted gear selector stalk. It and the Tiggo 7 PHEV also receive a new steering wheel taken from the Jaecoo J7.

GALLERY: Chery Tiggo 7 PHEV at Malaysia Autoshow 2025