New-generation tri-motor electric SUV goes after Prado with rugged looks, autonomous driving tech and the trademark ‘tank turn’ capability.
Electric Cars
The 2025 Chery Tiggo 9L has been revealed in China with more tech, three electric motors and a host of gear in a Toyota Prado-sized package able to perform ‘tank turns’.
A hybrid-electric version of the latest-generation Toyota Prado is sold in the United States (US) and, while not yet confirmed for Australian showrooms, the local arm has said it could still join the local line-up.
A spokesperson for Chery Australia told Drive the Tiggo 9L is not confirmed or ruled out for local showrooms, but “we are reviewing a number of international models for the Australian market.”
No pricing or launch timing has been announced for the T9L’s launch in China – or elsewhere – so far.
Full spec and equipment levels of the Tiggo 9L are also yet to be revealed, it is expected to be slightly larger than the Tiggo 9.
The Tiggo 9 is the biggest Chery-branded SUV at 4820mm long – meaning the 9L may well approach the Prado’s 4990mm.
The 9L’s cabin will be configurable, according to Car News China, with six- and seven-seat versions offered when it goes on sale, with three digital screens – a digital instrument cluster, centre and front passenger displays – stretching across the dash.
It also claims the Tiggo 9L will use the Chery Kunpeng Super Performance Hybrid CDM-S system, which uses three electric motors as part of a hybrid powertrain rated to offer up to 1400km of driving range.
As well as drive modes for efficiency and off-roading – given four-wheel drive capability – the 9L will also use CDC (continuous damping control) variable damping shock absorbers.
Chery also revealed the 9L will also be able to perform the full ‘tank turn’ party trick, where the vehicle rotates on the spot.
The car maker is in the midst of launching a swathe of hybrid models globally, given their increase in popularity in key markets such as the United States and China as well as Australia, where sales skyrocketed by 76 per cent in 2024.
In Chery’s home market of China, plug-in hybrid sales increased 24.6 per cent year-on-year in the first three months of 2025, with non-plug-in hybrids increasing 4.1 per cent.
Hybrids made up a record 15 per cent of all new vehicle sales in Australia between January and March 2025, with Chery confirming the hybrid Tiggo 4 small SUV for local showrooms in 2025.
The Chinese brand will also launch plug-in hybrid versions of the larger Tiggo 7 Pro and Tiggo 8 Pro SUVs.
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