This camo-ed all-electric Chery has been rumoured to be landing locally as early as Q1 2027.
While the Proton e.MAS 5 may be the hottest EV around over here right now, it looks like Chery could soon be eyeing a slice of that pie. And if this latest photo is anything to go by, the Chinese automaker may be intending to do so with the imminent local launch of its Q EV.
Spotted wearing its dazzle camouflage on the WCE recently, this sighting of the compact Chery EV further adds weight to prior speculation of a local launch in early 2027.
Now, a little bit more about the Q EV (aka QQ3 in its native China, and not to be confused with the QV-E). Measuring 4,195 mm long, 1,811 mm wide and 1,573 mm tall, this compact Chery is actually one of the larger cars in its segment, being 60 mm longer, six mm wider and seven mm lower than the e.MAS 5. Its 2,700 mm wheelbase is also 50 mm longer than the Proton’s.
Visually meanwhile, some have said the Q’s face looks like a MINI with a permanently suspicious expression. Its boxier profile gives it a rather different stance from the more rounded e.MAS 5, while the rump is finished off by a pair of squircle-shaped taillights.
Moving along underneath, the Q sits on Chery’s T12 platform and is powered by a single rear-mounted electric motor driving the rear wheels. There are two powertrain configurations available in China, with the base-spec model producing 79 PS and 90 Nm of torque from a 29.48 kWh LFP battery, giving it a claimed 250 km WLTP range.
It is nevertheless more likely that Malaysians will be getting the Thai-spec setup, which instead sees its single electric motor churn out a more respectable 122 PS and 115 Nm, with a larger 41.28 kWh battery providing around 340 km of WLTP range. And when it comes to topping the battery up, the Q supports up to 85 kW of DC fast charging, with the battery taking just 16.5 minutes to charge from 30 to 80%.
Finally turning towards the cabin, the Q’s minimalist dashboard will likely feature an 8.8-inch digital instrument display and a 15.6-inch centre touchscreen, in addition to other potential creature comforts such as power-adjustable, heated and ventilated front seats, a 50-watt Qi wireless charger and a powered tailgate. This compact EV’s boot boasts 375 litres of capacity, which can be expanded to 1,450 litres with the rear seats folded, while a 70-litre frunk and 35 litres of rear under-seat storage add to that.
As it stands, the Chery Group does already have quite a few EVs in its arsenal over here. iCAUR has the Defender-esque 03 and boxy V23 in its lineup, while Omoda & Jaecoo is preparing to debut its J5 EV in early September.
To date, however, the group still does not have anything in the e.MAS 5’s price bracket. In fact, the only model that is really equivalent to the best-selling EV in Malaysia right now is TQ Wuling’s Bingo EV.
That said though, it is well within Chery’s means to utilise its expansive local assembly connections to skirt around MITI’s current CKD price floor. And if that does happen, it will certainly be interesting to see just how long the queues will be for this Q EV.
