Chery Completes Hybrid Battery Test Campaign in Indonesia

Chery has completed its Global Safety Challenge in Indonesia, setting new standards for hybrid batteries in tropical countries.

Renowned Chinese automaker Chery has just completed its Global Safety Challenge battery test in Indonesia. This test was intended to showcase the exceptional durability and real-world safety of its Chery Super Hybrid batteries, setting new standards for hybrid technologies in tropical countries.

This campaign was part of Chery’s ‘Revolution of Safety’ initiative, where two Chery CSH batteries were submerged in a 1-metre-deep tank filled with seawater for more than 53 hours, simulating the corrosive and high-pressure conditions commonly found in flood-prone regions like Southeast Asia.

The test was conducted in front of local and international media and culminated in the battery being reinstalled into a Chery Tiggo 8 CSH PHEV. To demonstrate its resilience and safety even after being submerged, the SUV was then driven down a steep ramp by Zeng Shuo, Vice President of Chery Sales Indonesia, accompanied by Budi Darmawan Jantania, Director of Chery Sales Indonesia.

The success of this Global Safety Challenge validates the true resilience and capability of Chery’s CSH hybrid batteries, as the seawater submersion test goes beyond the standard waterproof benchmark tests, which usually use plain water. More importantly, it also proves that upcoming CSH models like the Tiggo 8 PHEV tested can operate safely in harsh conditions in the Southeast Asian countries, thus aligning with Chery’s “In Somewhere, For Somewhere” strategy, which adapts product engineering to local environments.

Chery Tiggo 8 PHEV CSH previewed at the Malaysia Autoshow 2025 earlier this year.

As a refresher, the submerged CSH hybrid battery is the same 18.3-kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) unit used on the Tiggo 8 PHEV. Said battery was certified with an IP68 waterproof rating, and thanks to its multi-layer insulation design, it can be operated across extreme temperatures ranging from -35°C to 60°C.

In a single full charge, Chery claims the LFP pack can grant the Tiggo 8 PHEV up to 90 km of pure EV range while supporting DCFC that sees the pack charge from 30 to 80% in less than 20 minutes.

Besides this seawater submersion test, the CSH hybrid battery was also tested in China throughout a series of extreme safety challenges, including spiral rollovers, dual collisions, a 7-vehicle stack test, a 55 km/h intrusion test, a 4.9- metre drop test, and 720 hours of salt spray exposure.

Beyond these safety challenges, Chery will continue to showcase the capabilities of its hybrid batteries, with the next Global Safety Challenge taking place in Mexico. Here, the Chery Tiggo 7 CSH PHEV will undergo a rigorous underbody scraping test in the country’s rugged highland terrain in a bid to assess the battery pack’s protection in challenging road conditions and the system’s stability at high altitudes.