iCar Ecological Technology Co., Ltd., trading as iCar (stylized as iCAR), is a subsidiary of Chinese vehicle manufacturer Chery. The iCar brand was established as an electric vehicle brand in April 2023, following several previous usage of the trademark by Chery. iCar started sales of its first vehicle, the iCar 03 SUV in February 2024.
The iCar brand has been used by Chery several times prior to its usage as a standalone electric car brand. In 2007, the iCar name was used for a pickup truck. In 2014, the platform used by the Chery Arrizo 7 was marketed as iCar. In 2017, iCar became an "ecosystem" brand owned by Chery. Past use of the brand include a digital ecosystem, along with online and offline direct sales store network selling Chery New Energy vehicles such as the Chery QQ Ice Cream. The Chery eQ1 is also marketed as the Caoa Chery iCar in Brazil since August 2023.
The brand was spun off into an electric car brand in April 2023 at the Auto Shanghai. The "i" logo of iCar was designed by Cao Xue, the creator of the panda mascot of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. According to Chery, "i" stands for intelligence, internet, innovation, individual, inspiration, and information. The brand targets younger people aged 25–35 who are pursuing new careers. At the auto show, the brand debuted two cars, the iCar 03 and the iCar GT sports car concept. The brand plans to market four product series covering MPV, SUVs, and sports cars.
CATL announced that they will be incorporating their sodium-ion batteries into the Chery iCar.
Pilot production of the iCar 03 started in June 2023, while pre-orders were opened in November 2023. It went on sale on 28 February 2024.
On April 7, 2024, the second vehicle, the iCar V23 made its debut in China. The V23 is the first model jointly developed by Chery and Zhimi Technology, and was officially unveiled on April 12, 2024 and launched in the second half of 2024. Zhimi Technology's car manufacturing division started as early as the end of 2021, with the V23 being it's first project. Originally developed independently to be part of Zhimi's product lines and earliest vehicle product, the V23 project and Zhimi Technology's car manufacturing division and assets was later bought by Chery and merged with the existing iCar brand in 2024.
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