News - Chery - Tiggo 7Chery’s local tuning efforts intensifyExtensive localised engineering and evaluation prepares Chery models for local conditions25 Jul 2025 By MATT BROGAN CHINESE importer Chery is intensifying efforts towards better preparing its vehicles for sale in tough Australian conditions by ensuring ADAS, steering, and suspension calibration is evaluated locally ahead of each new model launch.
The program – which can extend for up to 14 weeks per vehicle model – sees engineers from Chery’s research and development network (which has bases in Brazil, China, Germany and the United States) undertake extensive assessment of road and climatic conditions to form a ‘global tune’ for use in Australia and other key export markets.
Speaking with GoAuto at the launch of the Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8 CSH in the Hunter Valley this week, Chery Australia chief operating officer Lucas Harris said the importer’s global headquarters recognises the importance of the Australian market in developing vehicles that are well suited to a variety of driving environs.
“The Tiggo 7 and 8 feature new software for the front camera module, making them the first models in Australia to use this new architecture,” he said.
“The system was tuned for local conditions by visiting engineers from both our Research & Development Centre and the (equipment) supplier who spent 12-14 weeks with the vehicles – testing both night and day.
“The calibration is unique to each individual vehicle, and we spend a lot of time to ensure the vehicles suit Australia’s many and varied road conditions.
“We are very fortunate that we are supported by head office, and that they see the value in investing the time and money in ensuring the vehicles we receive are the best they can be.
“It takes an enormous amount of time and effort on behalf of the engineering team and represents a huge commitment from global (Chery headquarters in Wuhu).”
In New South Wales for the launch of Chery’s latest plug-in hybrid SUVs, Chery Automobile head of product development and director of pre-research and vehicle architecture Dr Xianqiang (David) Lu told GoAuto the additional investment in undertaking engineering evaluation overseas would assist in ensuring vehicles are a better fit for the markets in which they are sold.
“I remember vividly early comments made by reviewers about areas of concern with the Omoda 5, for example. They centred around suspension, ADAS, and durability – and whether the Chery model would last in Australian conditions,” he said.
“We paid a lot of attention to those comments.
“We have a very capable internal chassis dynamics and ADAS performance team who, whenever we go into a new market, travel to that market to understand those things that may not be realised by testing only in China or Europe, for example.
“We apologise that the first vehicles to come here drew complaints around ADAS, the suspension tune, or the steering feel … but it is why we now send a team here to do the tuning.
“We are still looking at the differences between Australia and other markets. There are some characteristics (of Australian ADAS and chassis calibration preferences) that are probably quite European and others that are quite like those of drivers in the United States.”
While that variance in preference presents obvious challenges in formulating ADAS and chassis tunes for a broader, global audience, Dr Lu said that Australian testing has proved exceptionally valuable, with varied conditions assisting Chery engineers in creating what he calls a ‘DNA Handbook’.
“While I know we can still do better, the global team is dedicated to improving individual market tuning,” he added.
“Travelling to and testing in countries like Australia has helped us to establish what we internally call our DNA Handbook, and this has been influenced by several important markets – and Australia is one of them.
“We are looking to leverage our Australian connection to do more testing in the future … we have our ‘book’ now, and we are continually adapting our testing, and we will do more in Australia moving forward.”
While ADAS calibration and steering and suspension tuning are of obvious importance to Australian customers, Dr Lu said that local road surfaces had also proved a challenge where noise, vibration, and harshness characteristics were concerned.
Australia’s infamous coarse chip bitumen – and extensive network of unsealed roads – forced a rethink of noise suppression thresholds, resulting in new standards being applied to not only vehicles exported Down Under, but those across the Chery portfolio.
“We now have explicit targets for NVH when the petrol engine is running and when the vehicle is operating on electric power alone, for example,” Dr Lu told GoAuto.
“We paid a lot of attention to this point, and we believe it is one of those points that now separates us from the others (vehicles in the market). We made sure there is less than 1dB in cabin noise when the engine is on, and when it is off.”
Dr Lu said Chery Automobile has invested over $A420 million in developing a research and development regimen that tests over 2600 components in 23 specialised modules to ensure the quality and reliability of both the individual component and its function as part of a complete vehicle.
The Chery Test Technology Centre is also utilised to analyse field data gathered from its travelling engineering team to ensure future vehicles offer steering stability, NVH levels, safety parameters, environmental adaptability, weather resistance, emissions regulations, and power and economy expectations for the 80-plus markets its vehicles are now sold.
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