Chery bets on warranty that replaces the electric car if the battery catches fire

In an attempt to stem the drop in sales in the Chinese domestic market, Chery made official the launch of the “Rhino” warranty plan for its batteries. The strategy is straightforward: according to the brand, the automaker promises to fully replace the vehicle if a battery failure causes thermal runaway — the overheating that can lead to fire — with physical damage to the car. Detailed by the Chinese portal Sina, the program seeks to shield the company’s reputation and offer a sales argument in the face of the commercial retraction scenario.

To support the warranty, the manufacturer highlighted an investment of 10 billion yuan (about R$ 7.58 billion) in research and development. The new engineering standards are ambitious and, according to the company, exceed current Chinese regulatory requirements by up to ten times. The battery casings are designed to withstand impacts of 1,500 joules at the bottom – a level that, according to Chery, is equivalent to ten times the minimum provided for in the new state regulation – in addition to a simultaneous puncture test by ten needles that, according to the brand, did not result in smoke or ignition.

Industrial accuracy was also high. The automaker claims that the assembly of the cells takes place in controlled environments, with only 40 dust particles of 0.5 micrometers or more per cubic meter, and that a 100-meter magnetic levitation logistics line moves the components around the factory to eliminate the friction that generates particles. These protocols, according to the company, will be applied to all new models in the lineup, including upcoming plug-in hybrids, such as the Fulwin A9 sedan and the Fulwin T7 utility.

The same production structure serves as a bridge to the next generation of cells. Chery claims to have filed a patent for sulfide-based solid electrolytes to contain material degradation, with the goal of achieving energy density of up to 600 Wh/kg in future series applications.

The movement comes at a delicate time. Market data indicate that the brand’s monthly deliveries in China fell from 51,417 units in June 2025 to 31,738 in May 2026, a decline that the survey classifies as a reduction of 34.8% year-on-year. With a 2.1% share of the domestic market, Chery is betting on extreme security as its main competitive advantage. The company bases its trust on a test fleet of 43,000 vehicles that it says has traveled more than 1.2 billion kilometers without any fire records.