Chery Pushes Safety Limits with TIGGO 9 Crash Demo

Chery has once again pushed the boundaries of automotive safety, this time with a bold, live crash test in China that left a strong impression on everyone watching.

As part of its Ultimate Safety Exploration Tour, the company staged a head-turning demonstration involving two Tiggo 9 SUVs colliding at a 15° angle, right in front of more than 500 guests and members of the media. The aim was simple: to prove just how far Chery’s engineering has come when faced with one of the toughest crash scenarios in the industry.

The small-overlap test is notoriously brutal. Unlike a standard frontal crash, the impact bypasses the main frame rails and strikes the car’s weaker points, putting the structure through intense bending and twisting forces. In this test, both vehicles accelerated to 50 km/h before impact, the same as one car hitting a solid wall at around 100 km/h.

Despite the severity, both Tiggo 9 units tested held their shape. The passenger cells stayed completely intact, with no visible distortion to the A, B, or C pillars. All airbags, including the knee and curtain units, deployed exactly as designed, and the seatbelt pre-tensioners fired instantly.

The fuel systems remained sealed, and all four doors could be opened right after the crash, allowing for quick access if this were a real accident. Even the hazard lights came on automatically to warn nearby traffic.

The test, held at the Longshan Test Centre, was the highlight of Chery’s ongoing safety tour, a programme designed to show that the brand’s safety claims are built on real-world results, not just lab data.

Chery’s chief engineer, Xu Youzhong, said the demonstration was meant to simulate what can happen in everyday driving. “At that collision angle, the front beams alone can’t absorb the full force,” he explained. 

By combining rigorous lab tests with extreme real-world challenges, Chery is building a more complete understanding of how its vehicles behave in unpredictable situations. It’s all part of the brand’s “Safety, for Family” philosophy, a reminder that every bit of technology serves one purpose above all else: keeping people safe.