The Chery A3 is a

compact car Compact car is a vehicle size class—predominantly used in North America—that sits between subcompact cars and mid-size cars. "Small family car" is a British term and a part of the C-segment in the European car classification. However, before ...

built 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 ...

between 2008–2015, offered as a 4-door sedan and as a 5-door

hatchback A hatchback is a car body style, car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row sea ...

. It was revealed for the first time as a concept car at the 2006 Beijing Motor Show and production car two years later which went on sale in September 2008. The car was designed by the Italian studio

Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (; ; short for Pininfarina Società per Azioni) is an Italian automotive design, car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 ...

. In South America, Eastern Europe and Oceania it is marketed numerous different names, including: Chery M11 (in

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 ...

and

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 ...

), Chery Tengo (in

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 ...

and nearby countries), Chery Chance/Niche (in

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 ...

), Chery Cielo (in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

), Chery Skin/Skin Sport (in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

), Chery Orinoco (in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

), Chery Cruise (in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

) and Chery J3 (in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Safety and equipment

The car comes in standard with driver and front passenger

airbag An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate in milliseconds during a collision and then deflate afterwards. It consists of an airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. ...

s and additionally it can offer side airbags and as well front and rear curtain airbags. Also standard equipment includes ABS and EBD and optional there is TCS. The body structure is made 40% of high strength steel sheet. Standard equipment also includes power steering, electric windows, air conditioning, 205/55 R16 tyres with aluminium alloy rims, remote central locking or cd/mp3-player. In December 2008, A3 received a five-star China-NCAP safety rating, becoming the first indigenous car to achieve such a high-test rating. The process consists in three different tests; 100% front crash test with a wall (like the U.S.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA ) is an agency of the U.S. federal government, part of the Department of Transportation, focused on automobile safety regulations. NHTSA is charged with writing and enforcing Feder ...

(NHTSA) test), a 40% offset test (like the

EuroNCAP The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a European voluntary car safety performance assessment programme (i.e. a New Car Assessment Program) based in Leuven, Belgium. Formed in 1996, the first results were released in February ...

) and a side crash test like the EuroNCAP. The results of the A3 were 11,22 points in the 100% frontal crash test, 15.03 points in the 40% offset crash test and 16 points in the side crash test. Another Chinese car that received five stars in the testings was the

Roewe 550 The Roewe 550 is a mid-size sedan that is produced by Roewe in China, and was launched at the 2008 Beijing Motor Show. The 550 was reported to be derived from the MG Rover RDX60 project (itself based on the platform of the Rover 75) which was ...

Reception

The Chery A3 is regarded as "a turning point for the Chinese automotive industry" for its understated yet original design, when at its release many Chinese cars used designs heavily borrowing from stablished foreign brands.

Europe

Rumors were raised in December 2010 that the car was about to be built at the struggling FSO plant in Poland, when a Chery A3 was spotted coming out of the factory's gates in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and bearing a label marked with the FSO logo in the windscreen corner. However, Chery stated that it plans to export cars to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

only after 2015, though some of its products are already available in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

through the

DR Motor 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: ...

brand. In March 2011, Belgrade Municipal police received a number of 15 Chery A3 vehicles (and two

Tiggo The Chery Tiggo () is a series of crossover SUVs produced by the Chinese manufacturer Chery Automobile Chery Automobile Co. Ltd., trading as Chery (), is a Chinese automobile manufacturer owned by Chery Holding Group Co., Ltd. Founded in 199 ...

), awarding the Chinese automaker as the winner in a bid where it reportedly competed against recognized brands from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. They are the first

law-enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

body in Europe to drive Chinese manufactured vehicles, after the Chery brand already gained access to the governmental vehicle market in countries like

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Motorsport

The Chery Flying Star Rally Team is racing Chery A3 cars in the Chinese Rally Championship in the last seasons and from 2011 it entered the Chinese Touring Car Championship too with the A3.

Engines

Gallery

File:Chery Skin 1.6 GL 2011 (16340526023).jpg, Chery A3 4-door sedan File:2012 Chery J3 (M1X) hatchback (19661330934).jpg, Chery J3 5-door hatchback File:2012 Chery J3 (M1X) hatchback (20096035238).jpg, Chery J3 5-door hatchback