Chery’s Attempting a show-stopping off-road performance in China has resulted in major embarrassment.
On November 12th, Chery sent one Fengyun X3L – an EREV (Extended Range Electric Vehicle) version of the iCar 03 electric SUV – up the stairs in the Tianmen Mountain Scenic Area in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province.
Ho-Pin Tung achieved this feat in 2018 in a Range Rover Sport plug-in hybrid SUV, climbing all 999 steps of the staircase – which has an average gradient of 45 degrees – to the famous Gates of Heaven.
Chery wasn’t so lucky and the internet is now full of pictures and videos of his Fengyun X3L climbing about halfway up the stairs before things went wrong.
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Footage of the incident shows something falling from underneath the vehicle before it loses traction and slides down several steps. Once it reaches a landing, the driver is unable to stop the vehicle in time before it backs into a railing, damaging it.
Accordingly Car news ChinaOn November 12th and 13th, the staircase – also called the “Sky Ladder” – was closed due to the event. After the Nov. 12 incident, a witness reportedly said the SUV was left there for two hours before being moved.
Chery has explained why its SUV failed and apologized for the damage caused.
“We sincerely apologize to the Tianmen Mountain Scenic Area, tourists, partners and all friends who were concerned about this matter,” Chery said in a statement shared with Chinese media and translated into English.
“A preliminary investigation confirms that the direct cause of the accident was the inadvertent release of the safety rope attachment point of the test device, which resulted in the safety rope becoming entangled in the right wheel, impeding power delivery, causing the vehicle to slide downward and impact the guardrail, resulting in partial damage to the guardrail.”
“Fortunately, this accident did not cause any injuries or damage to the natural environment.
“We recognize that our planning and implementation of this test resulted in inadequate prediction of potential risks and failures in handling details. We deeply regret the public concerns raised by the decision to conduct the test in a public, scenic area.”
“We sincerely apologize for the damage caused by this test on Tianmen Mountain and promise to do our best to repair it, assume liability for damages and properly handle all subsequent matters.”
“We are deeply disturbed and apologize for the extensive online discussion and use of valuable public resources in this incident. We thank the public for their oversight and criticism, and we will learn from this experience and take a more robust and robust approach.”
Despite the embarrassing mishap, Chinese outlet NF News Chery will reportedly try the challenge again on November 25 and may equip the vehicle with different tires and improve the four-wheel drive system’s torque distribution algorithm.
The Chery Fengyun
Depending on the variant, it weighs between 1842 kg and 2000 kg and is offered with either 20.64 kWh or 33.68 kWh lithium iron phosphate batteries.
While it is available with rear-wheel drive, the all-wheel drive variant has a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine with 115kW/220Nm and electric motors with 130kW/205Nm and 185kW/300Nm.
This also includes special driving modes “Snow”, “Mud”, “Sand”, “Gravel” and “All Roads”, as well as hill descent control and low-speed crawling and tank turning functions.
It is unclear how much Chery prepared for the event.
JLR built a test model of some of the 45-degree angle steps in the UK to ensure its SUV could handle them before sending a Range Rover Sport up the steep climb.
The luxury brand’s Dragon Challenge included not only climbing stairs, but also a ride along the 99 hairpin bends of the 11.3 km long Tianmen Mountain Road.
