iCaur: The next China brand is coming

If you were looking for the iCaur brand at Auto China in Beijing, you wouldn't find it. However, the subsidiary of the Chinese Chery Group was certainly represented at the country's largest car show - although the brand is called iCar in China. There is a simple reason for this: the technology giant Apple has secured the rights to this name. To avoid the threat of a legal dispute, Chery has therefore renamed the brand iCaur outside of China. Both are pronounced the same.

iCaur describes itself as the NEV brand of the Chery Group - this stands for New Energy Vehicle and refers to the important segment of vehicles with alternative drive systems in China. Since 2025, the brand has stood out with angular off-roaders with a retro look, aimed at a young, tech-savvy target group. «Many vehicles in the NEV segment today are interchangeable and soulless,» says company boss Su Jun. «iCaur's mission is to bring personality and style back into the driving experience.» The new V27, with which the young brand is now also launching in Europe, is one of the vehicles designed to achieve this.

A kind of best-of album
Strategically, iCaur is pursuing a global approach: the brand plans to be present in over 50 countries. Following successes in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, it is now moving into Europe. The company Luxi Motors was founded for distribution in Switzerland, with the aim of establishing a sales and service network. Luxi Motors is owned by the Israeli car importer Samelet.

At first glance, the iCaur V27 looks very familiar - it is a kind of best-of album of the off-road classics Land Rover Defender, Mercedes G-Class and Jeep Wrangler. However, the Chery subsidiary says that it does not want to copy, but rather revitalize classic design. «The biggest challenge with classic design is not to add elements, but to know what to leave out,» reveals Su Jun.

The almost five-meter-long off-roader has purely electric all-wheel drive with a system output of 335 kW/455 hp, powered by a 34.3 kW/h battery. This alone is only sufficient for a range of around 145 kilometers - which is why a 1.5-liter petrol engine also supplies the system with power as a generator. This makes a range of over 1000 kilometers possible, albeit according to the Chinese driving cycle. The iCaur V27 is due to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2026; prices are not yet known. And with the smaller V23 and V25, two more models are already waiting in the pipeline.