Chery commits $1.5 billion to solid-state batteries as 2027 on-road trials take shape

Speaking at the World Power Battery Conference in Yibin, Sichuan, Chery chairman Yin Tongyue laid out a timeline for putting solid-state cells through vehicle-level validation in 2027. Backing the program is a research budget of 10 billion yuan (about US$1.5 billion), and Yin stressed that nothing will be fitted to cars until it clears the company's safety requirements.

The cells stem from the Rhino S family unveiled in March 2026, which spans energy densities of 400 to 600 Wh/kg — a level Chery says it has already attained. Vehicles equipped with the technology are projected to cover up to 1,500 km on a single charge. The Exeed ES8 station wagon, first teased in December 2025, will serve as the debut test car, while packs built on a semi-solid version of the Rhino chemistry enter vehicles in the final quarter of this year.

Manufacturing preparations are running in parallel at Anwa New Energy Technology, a Chery affiliate co-backed by Gotion High-Tech. Anwa has begun pilot output of engineering cell samples at a plant designed around 1.25 GWh of annual capacity and is targeting mass production of 500 Wh/kg cells in 2027.

Chery is not racing alone. CATL, BYD, Geely, CALB, Gotion and Farasis Energy have all signaled 2027 start dates for solid-state trials or pilot production. CATL currently leads China's battery market with a 42.9% share, ahead of BYD at 19.5%.