Chery and Bosch are signing a strategic collaboration that will radically change vehicle architectures. This partnership, announced at the ceremony held in Beijing, focuses especially on the development and mass production of the new generation 48V vehicle architecture. This new system, which will support many upper segment components from smart cockpits to by-wire chassis technologies, makes the electrical infrastructure of automobiles much more efficient, light and powerful.

12V Reached Its Limits: Why 48V?

12V electrical systems, which have been used in traditional automobiles for years, are now having difficulty meeting today’s technological needs. Advanced in-vehicle information processing systems, smart cockpits with huge screens, and steer-by-wire technologies that eliminate mechanical connections require much higher energy. Chery and Bosch aim to standardized 48V architecture to meet this need.

This new architecture increases vehicle power capacity to 15 kW and saves more than 10 kilograms in system weight. While lightweighting means increased range in electric vehicles, it also offers serious improvements on the performance side. For example, the response speed of the steer-by-wire engine increases by more than 20 percent with this system. This means that drivers will encounter a much sharper and more responsive steering system.

Competition Is Intensifying in the Sector: Strategic Move Against Tesla and BYD

The transition to 48V architecture is not actually a new issue in the automotive world. Tesla ignited a breakthrough in the industry by using this architecture in mass production with its Cybertruck model. On the other hand, brands such as BYD, one of Chery’s biggest competitors, and Xiaomi, which has made a rapid entry into the automotive industry from the technology world, are also constantly updating their electrical architectures.

More than 25 years of cooperation experience between Chery and Bosch puts the brand one step ahead in this competition. Bosch’s industrial production power in low voltage systems combines with Chery’s vehicle development competence in the global market. This partnership not only takes the hardware to the next level, but also takes safety to the next level with its independent redundant power supply design, which ensures uninterrupted operation of critical functions such as smart driving, braking and steering in extreme conditions.

First Stop EXEED: Mass Production Coming Soon

This work between Chery and Bosch has not actually just begun. The teams have been carrying out an 18-month intensive R&D process since October 2024; completed the development of functional prototypes and creation of critical component samples. This technology will first appear in the flagship model of EXEED, Chery’s premium brand.

Chery Chairman Yin Tongyue states that this project is a critical stage on the path to building a global technology ecosystem. Bosch CEO Stefan Hartung emphasizes that this partnership will accelerate the mass production of new generation vehicles in line with electrification and smart transformation trends. The potential of the 48V system to be not only limited to automobiles but also to be adapted to different technological fields such as robotics in the future makes this collaboration more exciting.