Riich was an upmarket marque of the Chinese manufacturer Chery, launched in March 2009 and closed in April 2013. Its range included small cars of the M series, the G5 and G6 saloons and the X1 crossover, and one of its unfinished projects returned to the market as the Chery Tiggo 5.
Riich at a glance
| Maker | Chery Automobile, Wuhu, China |
|---|---|
| Launched | March 2009 |
| Closed | announced in September 2012; sales ended in April 2013 |
| Position | upmarket brand above Chery, alongside Rely |
| Small cars | M1 hatchback, M5 notchback, X1 crossover |
| Saloons | G3, G5 and G6 |
| G5 | the first Chinese car tested at the Nürburgring |
| G6 | flagship with a 3.0-litre V6 or a 2.0 turbo |
| Cancelled | Z5 coupe, X6 SUV, G2 hatchback |
| Last project | X3, sold from 2013 as the Chery Tiggo 5 |
Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Riich marque, which is a history of the brand rather than of a single model.
History of the Riich
An upmarket Chery
In the spring of 2009 Chery adopted a multi-brand strategy, adding new branches meant to improve the image of a company known until then for budget cars. Riich was launched together with Rely as a more expensive and more luxurious alternative to the regular Chery products. The range was first built on a family of three related small models, opened by the Riich M1 hatchback, and joined by the M5 saloon and the X1 crossover; based on the M1, Chery also built the Riich M1 EV, one of the first electric cars in the history of the company.
Saloons
At the end of 2009 the range grew with the mid-size G5, the first Chinese car to be tested on the German Nürburgring circuit, and a year and a half later, in August 2011, with the flagship G6, a large saloon offered with a 3.0-litre V6 or a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine. Both had been developed with styling by the Italian studio Bertone. The sixth and last model was the compact G3 saloon of 2011, a more luxurious variation of the cheaper Chery E5. The first Riich to enter production had in fact been the G6, a medium-to-high-end saloon developed by Chery alone.
The end
Besides the cars that reached the market between 2009 and 2011, Chery planned more models: the Z5 compact coupe, the X6 mid-size SUV and the G2 subcompact hatchback never went beyond the development stage, and a coupe version of the G6 and further variants of the M1 were also considered. Poor sales led the management to abandon the further development of the branch and of Rely in 2012, and in April 2013 the brand was withdrawn from the market, ending production of all its models. The brand closed just as work on the Riich X3 crossover was well advanced; it was the only one of the planned cars to reach production, and it appeared in November 2013 under the parent brand as the Chery Tiggo 5.
Design and features
- Short life: launched in 2009 and closed in 2013 after poor sales.
- Three families: the M-series small cars, the X1 crossover and the G-series saloons.
- Nürburgring first: the G5 was the first Chinese car tested on the German circuit.
- One survivor: the planned X3 reached the market as the Chery Tiggo 5.
Riich versions
- Riich M1 (2009–2014): the small hatchback, also sold as the Chery M1 or Chery S18.
- Riich M5 (2009–2014): the notchback version of the M1.
- Riich X1 (2009–2014): the crossover version, sold in Russia as the Chery X1.
- Riich G3 (2011–2013): a compact saloon based on the Chery E5.
- Riich G5 (2009–2013) and G6 (2009–2013): the mid-size and flagship saloons.
The smallest Riich was the Riich M1 and X1, and the brand’s last project was absorbed into the Chery Tiggo range as the Tiggo 5. More models are in the Chery collection.
Sources
- Riich, English Wikipedia: brand history, models, cancellation, the X3 project
