Chery Holding Group’s sub-brand Rely launched on Tuesday its first fully electric pickup truck R08.
The EV variant was first unveiled at the Chengdu Auto Show last September, alongside its internal combustion engine (ICE) version and the P3X and P2X pickup SUVs.
The ICE version of the R08 was launched in Latin American markets just a month after its launch.
Chery Group launched its pickup truck sub-brand Rely last April, aiming “to become a value benchmark for global New Energy and intelligent pickups.”
The name of the brand — known as ‘Himla’ outside China — combines the first letters of Rebuild, Explore, Link, and Yield.
The Rely brand plans to roll out one new product annually over the next four years, Chery announced last April.
R08 EV Specs
Available in six variants, the R08 EV is offered in both single-motor rear-wheel-drive (RWD) and dual-motor all-wheel-drive (AWD) configurations.
The first version is equipped with a 66.54-kWh or 88-kWh battery pack, providing a driving range of 405 km or 510 km (251 or 317 miles).
It produces a maximum output of 150 kW and peak torque of 350 Nm, and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.8 seconds.
Featuring a 88-kWh battery, the AWD trim achieves a driving range of 505 km (313 miles).
This variant delivers a combined output of up to 300 kW and 540 Nm of torque, reaching 0–100 km/h in 5.0 seconds.
With a body-on-frame (non-unibody) structure, the R08 EV measures 1,920 mm in width, and 1,890 mm in height, and has a wheelbase of 3,230 mm.
Its length spans from 5,330 mm to 5,610 mm depending on the version.
The electric pickup trucks include Level 2 driver assistance — adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, and automatic emergency braking — as well as a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155-powered cockpit system.
The model is available from 127,800 to 158,800 yuan, equivalent to a range of between $18,400 and $22,800.
Pickup Trucks in China
According to data released earlier this month by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), last year’s total retail sales were 23.744 million passenger vehicles, marking a 3.8% rise compared to 2024.
China registered a total of 589,000 pickup trucks last year, representing an 11.8% rise. Pick-up trucks account for just 2.5% of the total vehicle sales in the country.
Specifically, new energy vehicle (NEV) pickup trucks, which include fully electric and hybrid models, reached 73,000 units in 2025, surging 243%.
Chery Group Sales
Last year, the Chery Group sold 2,806,393 vehicles – a 7.8% year-on-year increase.
This includes sales from the core Chery brand, the SUV-focused Exeed, Omoda and Jaecoo, which target mostly international markets, the high-end Luxeed, and commercial vehicle brands like Karry or Rely.
The Chery brand totaled over 2.6 million units, a 8% increase year over year. The figures indicate that over 90% of the group’s sales were from its main brand.
The group’s annual exports grew 17.4% year-over-year to 1,344,020 vehicles, accounting for nearly half – 47.9% – of its total deliveries.
As a result, Chery Group remained China’s top passenger vehicle exporter for the 23rd consecutive year.
Future Plans
For this year, Chery aims to sell 3.2 million vehicles, 14% more than the total achieved last year.
Operating in over 100 contries across the globe, the company continues to expand rapidly into Europe, entering 15 markets, including the UK, Spain and Italy.
Chery‘s vehicle production in Spain, for example, has been called a “model of China-Spain cooperation.”
The group was the first Chinese automaker to manufacture vehicles locally, from November 2024, starting with the hybrid Ebro S700 — which is based on the Chery Tiggo 7.
Earlier this month, following a tariff agreement between China and Canada that cut duties on imported Chinese EVs to 6.1%, Chery was among the first automakers to move toward selling passenger vehicles in the North American market.
The company has started hiring staff, according to job listings published on LinkedIn last week.
On Monday, Canada’s Industry Minister Mélanie Joly confirmed that she has held meetings with several automakers about their presence in the market, including BYD and Chery as examples of Chinese NEV makers.
