China’s latest electric vehicle promise is as bold as it is specific: a solid-state battery car claiming up to 932 miles of range, targeted for the road in 2026. The Liefeng shooting brake from Chery is being positioned not as a distant concept but as a production-bound model that could reset expectations for how far an EV can travel on a single charge, even in deep winter. If it delivers, the project would mark a pivotal moment in the global race to commercialize solid-state batteries at scale.
Behind the headline figure sits a broader story about how China’s automakers are trying to leapfrog rivals by moving first on next-generation cells. From Chery’s own solid-state roadmap to parallel pushes by SAIC and GAC Aion’s Hyper brand, the country’s carmakers are treating solid-state technology as a strategic bet that could define the next decade of electric mobility.
Chery’s Liefeng and the 932-mile solid-state promise
Chery is framing The Liefeng as a showcase for its most advanced battery work, pairing a sleek shooting brake body with a solid-state pack that it says can deliver a range of 932 miles on a single charge. The company is not just talking about ideal lab conditions, either, but touting that figure alongside claims of robust performance at subzero temperatures, positioning the car as a long-distance tool for drivers who currently worry about winter range loss. By tying this ambitious number directly to a production-intent vehicle, Chery is signaling that it wants to be first among major EV brands to move solid-state cells from the lab into everyday use in China.
Under the skin, the Liefeng is expected to use Chery’s new Rhino S solid-state battery, a pack that is central to what the company describes as The Solid, State Advantage, Why, Solid, Wins in the shift away from conventional lithium-ion. Chery argues that this chemistry can pack more energy into the same footprint while improving safety and charging speed, a combination that would help justify the premium positioning of The Liefeng as a halo product. If the 932 mile claim holds up in independent testing, it would instantly put pressure on rivals that still rely on liquid electrolyte cells and far shorter official ranges.
Inside Chery’s solid-state tech: energy density, cold weather and charging
Chery’s confidence rests on a series of incremental breakthroughs that it has been previewing over the past year, including a solid-state module that it says reaches 600 watt-hours per kilogram, a figure that would roughly double the energy density of many current EV packs. In video briefings, Cherry has presented this 600 Wh/kg benchmark as a practical step toward ultra-long-range cars rather than a lab-only stunt, suggesting that its engineers have focused on manufacturability as much as raw performance. That focus helps explain how the company can credibly attach such aggressive range numbers to a specific model like The Liefeng rather than to a generic future platform.
Cold-weather performance is another pillar of Chery’s pitch. In a separate demonstration, Chery has highlighted a Solid, State EV concept that it says can achieve an Insane 1500 km Range at temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius, using the same family of high-density cells. The company has also talked up a Pilot Full Solid, State Batteries program that targets a Minute Charge for, Range of 500 km, promising that drivers could add 500 km of usable range in roughly the time it takes to grab a coffee. Taken together, these claims sketch a vision of EV ownership where long winter trips and rapid top-ups become routine rather than edge cases that require careful planning.
From prototype to product: how close is Chery to real-world deployment?
Chery’s journey toward a 932 mile production car did not start with The Liefeng, and the company has been unusually public about its intermediate steps. Earlier work included a prototype solid-state pack that Chinese engineers at Chery said could deliver around 1300 km of range, or roughly 808 miles, in a test vehicle, with a wider rollout planned for 2027 once durability and cost targets were met. That prototype effort helped validate the underlying materials and manufacturing processes, giving Chery a baseline from which to push toward even higher range figures and more demanding use cases.
Alongside those early trials, Cherry has used public presentations to frame its 600 Wh/kg module as a bridge between lab research and mass-market cars, arguing that the same architecture can be scaled up for larger vehicles or tuned down for more affordable models. The company’s decision to anchor its 2026 ambitions in The Liefeng suggests that it sees a premium shooting brake as the ideal launchpad, a segment where buyers are willing to pay for cutting-edge tech and where packaging constraints reward high energy density. If Chery can move from prototype to showroom without major compromises on range or charging, it will have proven that solid-state is ready to leave the research stage.
China’s wider solid-state race: SAIC, Hyper and the 2026–2027 window
Chery is not alone in betting that solid-state cells will define the next wave of EV competition in China. SAIC has publicly described solid-state batteries as Lighter, safer and more energy-dense than today’s packs, and has said that this technology could be the biggest EV milestone yet if it reaches mass production on schedule. In parallel, China, SAIC, Motor Says It, Mass, Produce Solid, State EV Batteries by 2026, a target that, if met, would put one of the country’s largest automakers years ahead of Japanese and European rivals that are still talking about the early 2030s for similar deployments.
SAIC is already investing heavily in the industrial backbone needed to support that timeline. The group has said that SAIC will complete the construction of its first solid-state production line next year, with plans to equip IM Motors branded EVs with these packs by 2027 as part of a broader strategic plan. That schedule roughly overlaps with Chery’s own 2026 ambitions for The Liefeng and its Pilot Full Solid, State Batteries program, suggesting that the middle of this decade will be a decisive window in which multiple Chinese brands try to lock in supply chains, patents and market share around solid-state technology.
Hyper, GAC Aion and the emerging solid-state ecosystem
Beyond the big legacy groups, newer Chinese EV players are also racing to lock in solid-state advantages. In BEIJING, Chinese executives at GAC, Aion have said that their Hyper sub-brand has finished research and development on all-solid-state batteries and plans to start using them in Hyper cars in 2026. That commitment would make Hyper one of the first Chinese EV lines to fully adopt solid-state packs across its range rather than limiting them to a single flagship, reinforcing the idea that this chemistry is moving from niche experiment to mainstream product strategy.
The Hyper lineup is already being positioned as a technology-forward showcase, with Chinese EV marketing around The Hyper GT EV emphasizing software, aerodynamics and now next-generation batteries as key selling points. As these brands roll out their first solid-state-equipped models, they will be drawing on the same broader ecosystem of suppliers, research institutes and test facilities that has supported Chery’s work, including analysis from independent commentators in Oct who have tracked Cherry as one of the fastest-growing large car companies in China. That shared infrastructure helps explain why the country’s automakers, from Chery and SAIC to Hyper, are converging on a similar 2026 to 2027 timeframe for bringing solid-state EVs from promise to pavement.
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