Chery sets 2027 pilot-line start for Rhinoceros S solid-state battery and details separate 12C fast-charging cells

What Chery announced at the October conference

At the 2026 Chery Global Innovation Conference on October 20, Chery outlined its Rhinoceros Battery roadmap, including a dedicated Rhinoceros S solid-state battery pilot line scheduled to enter operation in 2027, as reported by CarNewsChina citing IT-Home. The announcement adds a manufacturing milestone to the company's existing development plan rather than confirming a vehicle launch date. ¹

The roadmap covers more than solid-state cells. Chery's Rhinoceros portfolio includes liquid-electrolyte cells listed at a peak charging rate of 12C with a sustained average above 8C, plus sodium-ion storage cells rated for up to 15,000 cycles for commercial, industrial and residential applications. CarNewsChina's report stresses that the 12C charging figures apply only to the liquid cells and not to the Rhinoceros S solid-state battery. ¹

The company also presented an ammonia-fueled solid oxide fuel cell system for stationary power generation, with conference slides listing 60 per cent electrical efficiency, 90 per cent combined heat and power efficiency, adjustable output from 30 to 100 per cent and a 90-day deployment window. CarNewsChina notes that fuel processing and ammonia production affect overall efficiency and that renewable electricity used to make ammonia does not by itself establish zero lifecycle emissions. ¹

Rhinoceros S specifications and what has not been disclosed

Chery lists the Rhinoceros S solid-state battery at 400 Wh/kg with an operating temperature range of -40°C to 100°C, and reported an internal thermal-box test at 200°C. However, CarNewsChina reports the company did not disclose the test duration, state of charge or sample configuration that would allow comparison with standardised battery-safety tests. ¹

The 400 Wh/kg figure is not new: at Chery Automobile Battery Night 2026 in Wuhu in March, the company announced it had completed development and pilot production of a 60 Ah, 400 Wh/kg all-solid-state cell while advancing toward 600 Wh/kg, according to Shanghai Metals Market (SMM). The two figures describe different technical approaches — SMM's account identifies a sulfide solid electrolyte with a high-nickel ternary cathode for the 400 Wh/kg cell, against an in-situ polymerised electrolyte and lithium-rich manganese cathode for the 600 Wh/kg route — so they should not be treated as directly comparable versions of the same cell. ¹³⁴

Chery has outlined a long-term solid-state range target of up to 1,500 km for vehicles equipped with the technology. CarNewsChina's October report describes this as a development target, not a confirmed range for any production vehicle; SMM similarly frames the 1,500 km figure as an expectation once commercialised. ¹³

Engineering priorities identified by Chery include material-interface contact, battery-pack integration and its proprietary Dedicated Management System. CarNewsChina notes that maintaining stable contact between the solid electrolyte and electrodes through repeated charge and discharge cycles remains a key technical challenge in solid-state cells. ¹

Manufacturing timeline and how the stages fit together

The industrialisation picture has several dated milestones. Chery completed construction of a 0.5 GWh pilot line for 60 Ah-class solid-state cells in February 2026, and SMM reported at the time that this made Chery the first Chinese automaker to bring a self-developed all-solid-state pilot line into operation. CarNewsChina adds that Chery issued equipment procurement tenders in early October 2026. ¹³

It remains unclear whether the pilot line scheduled to enter operation in 2027 is that same facility, a separate installation or a further stage of commissioning — CarNewsChina reports that Chery has not clarified this. Neither pilot-line operation nor vehicle validation establishes a date for customer deliveries. ¹

At the 2026 World Power Battery Conference in Yibin on September 3, chairman Yin Tongyue said Chery will begin real-world vehicle tests of solid-state batteries in 2027, CarNewsChina reports. Yin said Chery would not integrate any technical solution into vehicles if it were insufficiently safe. At the March Battery Night, SMM reported a 'two-step' deployment: semi-solid-state batteries installed first, with the Exeed EX7 solid-liquid hybrid pack due to be installed in vehicles in Q4 2026, and the all-solid-state battery debuting in the Exeed ES8. ¹⁶³

SMM's March reporting also recorded Chery's broader capacity plan: 2026 for continuous production of 60 Ah-class cells and installation in designated operational vehicles (taxis and ride-hailing validated first), a planned 2-5 GWh mass-production line in 2027 covering demand for 200,000 household vehicles, and a 30 per cent penetration target across Chery's new-energy range by 2028. These are Chery's stated targets rather than independently verified outcomes. ³

Investment, partnerships and supply chain

SMM reports that Chery's solid-state R&D is led by its subsidiary Anwa New Energy, jointly advanced with DEYI Energy, with core technology licensed from MIT-incubated US firm 24M Technologies. In 2025, Chery and CATL established the 'Shidai Chery' joint venture with registered capital of 2 billion yuan focused on solid-state mass production. ³

Through its Ruicheng Fund venture platform, Chery led a tens-of-millions-of-yuan angel round in January 2026 for Hefei Yinshi New Materials, a sulfide solid electrolyte supplier whose Phase I facility has an annual supply capability of 30 tonnes and which plans a 300-500 tonne per year production line in the second half of 2026, according to SMM. CarNewsChina separately reports that Anwa's plant adopts full-chain production with a planned capacity of 1.25 GWh annually and targets volume production of 500 Wh/kg cells in 2027. ³⁶

At the March event, Chery vice president Gu Chunshan said the dedicated solid-state team would exceed 1,200 people within two years, with more than 90 per cent holding master's or doctoral degrees, and cumulative dedicated R&D funding above 10 billion yuan with no upper limit on future investment, according to SMM. Yin Tongyue reiterated the 10 billion yuan investment figure (about 1.5 billion US dollars) at the September battery conference, CarNewsChina reports. ³⁶

Chery's Australian distributor has echoed elements of the March announcement on its own news page, citing 400 Wh/kg current prototypes, a 600 Wh/kg roadmap, more than RMB 10 billion in investment and the multi-series Rhino family spanning hybrid (H Series), battery electric (E Series) and solid-state (S Series) variants. That page is a Chery Australia publication carrying the company's claims, not an independent verification, and it does not establish Australian availability of any solid-state-equipped vehicle. ²

Industry context: crowded 2027 field and voices of caution

Chery's timing places it among several Chinese automakers and battery manufacturers targeting solid-state trial production or vehicle validation around 2027. CarNewsChina lists Gotion High-Tech, Farasis Energy, CALB, CATL, BYD and Geely among companies announcing trial production or real-world tests in that year, and notes their plans sit at different development stages that do not indicate any will reach mass production in 2027. SMM's March report describes the same acceleration, with CATL and BYD both targeting small-scale production for 2027. ¹⁶³

Not all carmakers share the aggressive timeline. At the March Battery Night, Great Wall Motor chairman Wei Jianjun said by video that at least five more years are needed before solid-state batteries can truly be applied in vehicles, warning against excessive hype, SMM reports. Academician Ouyang Minggao of Tsinghua University said large-scale mass production of all-solid-state batteries still requires 3-5 years, with test vehicles appearing by the end of 2026 and commercial use of all-solid-state batteries expected after 2030. ⁵