Chery has filed fresh design patents in India for three very different vehicles: a new version of the Tiggo 4 compact SUV, a small monocoque pickup currently referred to as the Tiggo Pup, and the Exeed EX7 range-extender SUV. None of the filings confirms a launch, but the timing makes them more interesting than a routine intellectual-property exercise.
Chery already has a technology partnership with JSW Motors, under which JSW has secured access to multiple Chery platforms for future hybrids and electric vehicles. Initial products are expected to use imported kits before localisation increases. Against that backdrop, every new Chery patent gives a clearer view of the range of products JSW could potentially draw from.
The Tiggo 4 is the closest of the three to a familiar compact crossover. The current global model is about 4.32 metres long with a 2.61-metre wheelbase, putting it above the sub-4m SUV class but below larger midsize SUVs.
The patent drawings appear to show an updated version that has not yet gone on sale internationally. The front end gets split lighting, with slim daytime-running lamps higher up and the main headlamps placed vertically below. Chery already sells the Tiggo 4 in several overseas markets with petrol and hybrid powertrains.
That makes it the easiest of these three vehicles to imagine fitting into a conventional SUV line-up. However, there is still no confirmation that the patented design will be used by JSW or that the Tiggo 4 name itself will appear here.
The second filing is much more interesting from a consumer point of view. The Tiggo Pup is a compact lifestyle pickup with a monocoque body rather than the separate ladder-frame construction used by larger pickups such as the Toyota Hilux.
Its proportions suggest something closer to the Ford Maverick-style formula seen overseas: a passenger-car-like cabin with a short open load bed behind it. The patent sketches show four doors, heavy wheel-arch cladding, a short cargo bed and a roll-bar-style structure behind the cabin.
There are no confirmed dimensions, engines, production plans or even a final production name yet. That is important because the patent should not be read as proof that Chery has approved the pickup for sale.
Still, a compact pickup could give JSW an unusual product if it eventually reaches production. The local lifestyle-pickup market currently consists mainly of much larger body-on-frame models, leaving space for a smaller, more urban-focused alternative.
The third vehicle is the Exeed EX7 REEV. REEV stands for range-extended electric vehicle. Its wheels are driven electrically, while a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine works primarily as a generator to recharge the battery rather than directly driving the wheels.
The EX7 uses a 41.16kWh battery and is offered internationally in rear-wheel-drive and dual-motor four-wheel-drive versions. The 4WD version uses a 201bhp front motor and a roughly 304bhp rear motor, and is claimed to reach 100 kmph in 4.9 seconds. The two-wheel-drive version has a claimed combined driving range of up to 1,520km when the petrol range extender is included.
Equipment includes a 30-inch 6K infotainment display, a 23-speaker audio system and Level 2 driver assistance with LiDAR on higher specifications.