Chery unveils concept car claimed to have world’s lowest wind resistance

Chery said its new concept car achieves the world’s lowest wind resistance of 0.168 Cd with the help of its bionic design with the inspiration of tuna fish.

Chinese carmaker Chery has unveiled a new concept car that it claims has the world’s lowest wind resistance of 0.168 Cd.

The concept features a bionic design with the inspiration of tuna fish and combines the ultimate aero performance and design aesthetics, Chery said in a video released on October 31.

The model was designed using AI simulation technic with more than 2,000 optimization cases, Chery said.

The concept has more than 20 feature refinements and four sets of active drag reduction devices to help it create world-class ultra-low wind resistance, the automaker said.

The concept achieved a wind resistance of 0.168 Cd in a wind tunnel test conducted on August 20.

Wind resistance is one of the most important factors in determining a car’s energy consumption. In the era of electric vehicles, the pursuit of lower wind resistance to achieve a higher range is what many car companies are striving for.

In the design of Li Mega (Multi-Purpose Vehicle), Li Auto‘s first battery-electric vehicle (BEV) model to be released in December, the company has used a rarely seen design style similar to a Chinese high-speed railroad locomotive in order to achieve lower wind resistance.

“Can an MPV achieve the wind resistance of a coupe?” Li Auto wrote on Weibo on October 18, suggesting that the Li Mega’s wind resistance would be comparable to that of a coupe.

Chery is one of China’s largest carmakers, selling 190,080 vehicles in September, the third consecutive month with more than 150,000 units, according to figures it released last month. The company has yet to announce sales for October.

Chery has been an average performer in China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) market, with no well-known mid- to high-end models available at the moment. That’s probably because Chery is focusing a lot of its efforts on overseas markets.

For light vehicles, Chery was the brand that exported the most from China in the first half of the year, with a 14.9 percent share, market researcher Canalys said in an October 25 report.

At its Tech Day event on October 16, Chery said the company will launch 39 NEVs over the next two years, including 24 hybrid models and 15 BEVs.

Chery has joined forces with Chinese tech giant Huawei to create a brand called Luxeed, whose first model, the Luxeed S7 sedan, is expected to be released later this month.

Luxeed S7 sedan jointly built by Huawei and Chery to be launched in Nov