Chery has introduced a lifetime warranty for original owners on the battery pack and electric motor of its electric and hybrid models equipped with Rhino battery technology. The announcement comes as China enforces a landmark upgrade to its electric vehicle battery safety regulations, effective July 1, 2026.
A new global benchmark for battery safety
The regulation, designated GB38031-2025, is considered the most demanding mandatory battery safety standard in the world. It goes significantly beyond requiring an early alert before a fire occurs. Under the new rules, a battery must not ignite or explode for a full two hours after a thermal runaway incident begins.
The standard also introduces a five-minute no-smoke requirement for the passenger cabin following an initial event, giving occupants time to exit the vehicle before toxic fumes accumulate. Further, battery packs are required to survive three separate strikes from a 30 mm steel ball, each delivering 150 joules of impact energy, without catching fire. In a reflection of evolving charging infrastructure, the regulation mandates that batteries endure at least 300 fast-charge cycles and subsequently pass a short-circuit safety test, a measure aimed directly at the growing network of 1 MW charging stations in the country.
Chery links warranty directly to tougher standards
Chery is positioning its updated lifetime coverage policy as a direct endorsement of the new regulatory framework. The automaker is effectively signaling confidence that its Rhino battery packs can satisfy these elevated thermal and structural safety demands sufficiently to offer a lifetime guarantee, at least for the first registered owner. This move aligns with the company’s broader push into advanced battery technology, including collaborations with CATL and Gotion on current-generation cells, while targeting mass production of solid-state batteries by 2027.
The wider industry context
It remains unclear whether competitors will follow Chery’s lead with comparable lifetime terms. In a separate but related effort, NIO has been collaborating with CATL to advocate for a mandatory 15-year battery warranty covering both first and subsequent owners. NIO has argued that without such extended coverage, the second-hand electric vehicle market risks serious disruption as millions of first-generation cars begin to flood it by 2030 with expired battery warranties, potentially undermining confidence and resale values across the segment.
Source: weibo.com