The Chery A1 is a

supermini car The B-segment is the second smallest of the European segments for passenger cars between the A-segment and C-segment, and commonly described as "small cars". The B-segment is the third largest segment in Europe by volume, accounting for 15. ...

produced by the Chinese manufacturer

Chery Chery Automobile Co. Ltd., Doing business as, trading as Chery (), is a Chinese automobile manufacturer owned by Chery Holding Group Co., Ltd. Founded in 1997, it is currently the fourth largest automobile manufacturer group in China, with 2,6 ...

from 2007 to 2015.

Engines and equipment

Engines

It was available with a 1.3-litre

Acteco ACTECO is an automobile engine brand created by Chinese automotive manufacturer Chery. Engines range in size from 800 cc to 4.0 L, with architectures including a straight-4 and V8. The range was developed with Austrian company AVL. The ...

SQR473F engine, that has double overhead camshafts and 4 valves per cylinder, giving a peak power output and peak torque of .auto-chinese.com review of Cherry A1
Retrieved 24-02-2011.

Trim levels

There are three trim levels available Standard, Comfortable and Luxury. Both Comfortable and Luxury include air conditioning, alloy wheels, ABS, EBD, CD/MP3 player, electric windows, power steering, trip computer, rear reverse radar and central locking. The Luxury model includes front three-point seat belts with emergency locking retractor (ELR).

Marketing

Europe

In Italy, it was assembled by the

DR Motor Company DR Automobiles Groupe is an Italian automobile company established in 2006. It mainly sells rebadged vehicles from Chinese automakers BAIC Group, Chery Automobile, Dongfeng Motor Corporation and JAC Motors. It produces vehicles under 5 brands: ...

from semi-knocked down kits and marketed under its own brand, as the DR2. It was introduced at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, as the third model marketed by the Italian company. It is available with 15-inch alloy rims and

Euro V The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards that regulate pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and European Economic Area member states and the United Kingdom, and ships in European ...

-compliant engine, and can be fitted with leather upholstery and an LPG kit. In Europe, it is also marketed in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Australia

In Australia, sales commenced in 2011 (in all states except

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

), under the name of J1 (as

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...

sells the A1 model there). The initial release price was $11,990

AUD The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD; also abbreviated A$ or sometimes AU$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; and also referred to as the dollar or Aussie dollar) is the official currency and legal tender of Au ...

; however, a $1,000 cashback offer was made available. This made it one of the cheapest new cars available in Australia, along with the Proton S16,

Suzuki Alto The is a kei car produced by Suzuki since 1979. The model, currently in its ninth generation, was first introduced in 1979 and has been built in many countries worldwide. The Alto originated as a commercial vehicle derivative of the Fronte, ...

and

Geely MK Geely MK is a subcompact Sedan (automobile), sedan and hatchback produced by Chinese auto maker Geely Auto. Overview The Geely MK subcompact sedan is a reverse engineered first generation Toyota Vios with a similar dimensions, side profile, and ...

(sold in Western Australia only).Car Advice Australia Chery J1 on sale
Retrieved 24-02-2011. It was equipped with more features for the Australian market, including 14-inch alloy wheels, front fog lamps, two front airbags, a six-speaker CD player, air-conditioning, electric windows and side mirrors and a rear windscreen wiper along with a strengthened body and grille. Optional features were floor mats, reversing sensors, Bluetooth connectivity and headlight covers. Safety features such as ABS and EBD were also included; however,

electronic stability control Electronic stability control (ESC), also referred to as electronic stability program (ESP) or dynamic stability control (DSC), is a computerized technology that improves a car handling, vehicle's stability by detecting and reducing loss of Tract ...

was unavailable. Because of this, the vehicle was never sold in the state of Victoria, which requires all new vehicles sold after 1 January 2011 to come with ESC. This requirement became Australia-wide as from 1 November 2013, effectively banning the car along with some others. Also, it does not have side airbags. With these shortfalls, the Chery J1 scored a three star result in Australian ANCAP tests, making it one of the equal least-safe vehicles sold in the country. Indeed, ANCAP states that it "does not recommend purchasing vehicles with less than 4 stars". A defect in the seat frame necessitated a safety recall in August 2011.

References

External links

{{Chery Automobile A1 Subcompact cars Front-wheel-drive vehicles 2010s cars Cars introduced in 2007 Cars discontinued in 2015 ANCAP superminis