Chery Fulwin A8L Breaks Cover as the World’s Longest-Ranged PHEV

The all-new Chery Fulwin A8L saloon breaks cover in China as the world’s longest-ranged PHEV.

Chery has further expanded its Fulwin plug-in hybrid (PHEV) lineup in China today by unveiling its latest model, the Fulwin A8L. This sleek four-door saloon recently broke the record as the world’s longest-ranged PHEV, covering a total distance of 2,369.915 KM on a full charge with a full tank of fuel.

Part of the A8L’s stellar success is thanks to Chery’s proprietary C-DM 5.0 PHEV system that it underpins. Coming in either turbocharged or naturally-aspirated forms, this PHEV setup uses a 1.5-litre 4-cyl petrol mill as its core, which hooks up with an electric motor to deliver a total system output of 301 HP and 435 NM for the N/A variant. Said model also comes with a small 9.53-kWh battery pack that grants it up to 70 km of pure EV range (CLTC).

Meanwhile, the 1.5 turbo variant, which is the variant Chery used for its record-breaking attempt, gets a peppier total system output of 355 HP and 530 NM, allowing it a rapid 0-50 KM/H sprint time of 3.4 seconds, en route to its 205 KM/H V-Max. More importantly, the turbo variant also gets a larger 18.67-kWh battery pack that grants it up to 145 KM of EV-only range and a combined maximum range of over 2,100 KM—both figures based on the lenient CLTC standards.

On top of that, the turbo variant also supports DCFC which sees its battery charge up from 30-80% in just 19 minutes.

On the design front, the Fulwin A8L is essentially a slightly elongated version of Chery’s midsize PHEV saloon, the Fulwin A8, which by itself is based on the Chery Arrizo 8 petrol saloon. Aside from having similar design cues, such as the distinctive front face with a polygonal front grille and the sleek fastback-style silhouette, the A8L does get some slight design tweaks, such as the LED taillight signatures, a simpler rear bumper design, and the Fulwin A8L badge on its tailgate.

Dimension-wise, the Fulwin A8L measures 4,790 MM long, 1,843 MM wide, 1,487 MM tall, and a wheelbase of 2,790 MM, thus making it only 10 MM longer than the standard Fulwin A8.

On-board amenities are also largely carried over from the A8, plus some minor changes to make it more upmarket and comparable to other more expensive saloons out there. These changes include a redesigned front dash featuring a floating 15.6-inch central infotainment display and a separate 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, a cleaner central console that houses two 50-watt wireless chargers, and many more. 

Here, passengers can also find an assortment of creature comforts and tech amenities such as powered, heated, and ventilated seats, plush leatherette upholstery, an 8-speaker Sony audio system, a Level 2+ assisted driving system, and many more.

In its native Chinese market, the all-new Chery Fulwin A8L PHEV is available in five trim levels, with prices ranging from CNY 109,900 (RM67,362) to CNY 149,900 (RM91,879). And just like many other Fulwin PHEV models, there’s no news on whether this sleek saloon will be available in other international markets beyond the Great Wall borders, at least for now.

Photo credit: Autohome China