On October 18, the 2025 Chery Global Innovation Conference grandly opened in Wuhu, Anhui. This is Chery Automobile's first large-scale global event since going public, attracting representatives from government, industry, academia, and research sectors. On this stage where hardcore technologies were showcased in a concentrated manner, RELY WEILIN displayed three models: the WEILIN R08, the WEILIN R08 EV version, and the WEILIN P3X.
As the only pickup truck brand under Chery, I believe RELY WEILIN's appearance is not simply about displaying products—it is more like a strategic declaration, signaling that Chery has already regarded RELY WEILIN as a key piece in breaking through the pickup truck market.
We also have reason to speculate that in Chery's future blueprint, RELY WEILIN will combine the advantages of platformization, intelligence, and scenarioization, and, empowered by "Tech Chery" and "Science-Tech Chery," will compete in the future pickup truck market.
The pickup truck market faces the dilemmas of lagging intelligence and single scenarios
In many cases, pickup trucks are embedded in users' production and business activities, and their product capability is directly related to users' core benefits. For this reason, the pickup truck market relies more on user reputation, and every real owner's usage feedback may become a key force influencing whether a product breaks out of its niche. However, for a long time, the pickup truck market has faced pain points such as lagging intelligence, slow electrification, and single scenario adaptability. Many products still remain positioned as "tool vehicles" and find it difficult to meet users' compound needs for efficiency, intelligence, and all-scenario functions.
Globally, the pickup truck market has long been dominated by Japanese and American brands, especially in the diesel power sector, where the share is as high as 78%. The formation of this near-monopoly structure stems from traditional brands' accumulation in diesel technology and their control of market channels. However, the new energy wave provides a historic opportunity to reshape the market landscape.
Chery technology empowerment: "WEILIN Kaitian" reshapes the value boundary of pickup trucks
Based on a deep understanding of the pickup truck field, Chery empowers RELY WEILIN with 28 years of technological accumulation and, targeting the characteristics of the pickup truck category and usage scenarios, has deeply customized and developed a full-scenario vehicle intelligent technology platform—WEILIN Kaitian.
Overall, the physical platform architecture of WEILIN Kaitian has four major advantages: globalization, flexibility, open-source power, and digital chassis; in the electrification field, it also has three major features: a growable AI electronic and electrical architecture, a pickup-specific intelligent cockpit solution, and a globally intelligent deeply integrated control system; ultimately, it brings ultimate experiences in intelligent scenarios and ecological empowerment.
At this year's Chengdu Auto Show, Zhang Jiaming, General Manager of the RELY WEILIN Pickup Brand Business Division, presented the尖端 technological achievements of the "WEILIN Kaitian Platform" in two major fields—power and intelligent chassis: the world's first dedicated diesel hybrid engine and the globally validated all-domain smart chassis. The former, with five "super" advantages—exceptional efficiency, ultra-lightweight, ultra-quiet comfort, ultra-intelligent thermal management, and super-performance components—achieves the highest thermal efficiency in its class at 47% and one-million-kilometer durability assurance, balancing low consumption, quietness, and strong power; the latter, with four major breakthroughs in regional adaptability, handling stability, precision, and load-bearing, achieves suspension travel leading competitors by more than 10%, a turning radius of under 3 meters, automatic matching and switching among more than 22 driving modes, and a maximum load capacity of up to 1.5 tons, fully meeting the different needs of diverse users.
It is precisely with this series of solid technological breakthroughs that RELY WEILIN has successfully practiced its concept of "technology for all," allowing pickup truck users to likewise enjoy outstanding performance and intelligent experience. I believe this is not only a product upgrade, but also marks that the pickup truck category is comprehensively driving toward a new era of "smart global" with intelligent technology as the engine.
As the first product equipped with the "WEILIN Kaitian Platform," the WEILIN P3X is positioned as the global diesel-hybrid intelligent pickup trailblazer. Zhang Jiaming once said: he hopes the WEILIN P3X will become a new species that pioneers intelligent hybrid pickup trucks. Starting from new energy and intelligent scenarios, it uses a hybrid architecture to break through traditional ICE barriers, empowers scenario experiences with "electricity + intelligence + ecology," amplifies the pickup category's advantages in multifunctional expansion, and redefines pickup truck lifestyle scenarios.
Twin-star layout: from reliable fuel to practical electric
At the conference site, the WEILIN R08, positioned as a "global intelligent practical pickup," comes with reliable genes: the diesel version is equipped with a 2.3T engine, ZF 8AT transmission, and BorgWarner four-wheel-drive system. For users with high vehicle usage intensity, the WEILIN R08 is undoubtedly their reliable choice. Combined with simulated user road testing of 1 million kilometers, the signal conveyed by the WEILIN R08 is clear: this is a vehicle prepared for multi-scenario, long-cycle use. Its rare-in-class 15.6-inch large screen is equipped with the 8155 chip, and at the same time embeds ten major ecological links through WeChat mini-programs, making the WEILIN R08 the user's second intelligent terminal. In addition, the 360° follow-up 3D panoramic image and transparent chassis equipped on the WEILIN R08 achieve truly dead-angle-free perception of the driving environment, greatly improving safety and passage efficiency during parking and under complex road conditions.
The WEILIN R08 EV version is the first pure electric pickup launched by the RELY WEILIN brand, positioned as a "global intelligent practical pure electric pickup." Through innovative electric technology, outstanding load capacity, and leading intelligent configuration, it precisely meets the all-scenario needs of doers in the new era for efficient transportation, short-distance travel, economic pursuit, and balancing work and family. The plant protection drone linkage system equipped on the WEILIN R08 EV version, through the intelligent connected system, allows the vehicle to link with drones, supporting scenario needs such as plant protection operations and outdoor exploration, providing a new solution for smart agriculture.
Conclusion
From this innovation conference, it is not difficult to see that behind RELY WEILIN is the deep support of Chery's "brand + technology" dual-wheel-driven strategy. This systematic approach gives RELY WEILIN the genes of platformization, globalization, and electrification from birth. It may not be the most aggressive, but it is very likely to be the one that can advance steadily and penetrate the market most effectively in the wave of new energy transformation.
For the industry, the emergence of the WEILIN Kaitian Platform may drive the pickup truck track from "power competition" to "ecological competition"; and for users, an era of pickup trucks that is smarter, more electric, and more versatile may truly have arrived.
