Chery designs compact electric jeep for Israel JV

Shanghai, February 1 (Gasgoo.com) Chery-Quantum LLC, a joint venture between Israel Corp. and China's Chery Automobile Co., will develop a compact jeep, whose initial technical details have been disclosed by the official Chinese press, said Israel's Globes Online.

Israel Corp. invested $225 million in Chery-Quantum for a 50% stake in the JV. Last year, Chery-Quantum changed its premium car strategy to focus on an electric jeep. The new Chery-Quantum compact jeep, code-named T21, was designed at a studio in Milan, and resembles the general design of Chery's Tiggo 5, but is smaller.

The T21 will have a replaceable battery, which will probably be made by A123 Systems Inc. of the U.S., in which Israel Corp. is a shareholder. The battery will be located on the T21's double floor.

Israel Corp. plans to supply Better Place LLC with electric cars that suit the latter's batter replacement model to help boost the corporate value for the latest investment. Israel Corp. is Better Place's shareholder.

Better Place is presenting the final model of its battery replacement station, which includes a storage and management network. The model has been built and is operating at the company's closed hangar in Petah Tikva.

One clue to the mystery surrounding the $1.25 billion company value achieved by Better Place LLC in last week's investment, lies in China, said Globes Online.