Be careful with your marketing stunts around national landmarks. That should be the take-home message from Chery Automobile’s recent attempt to measure itself up against Land Rover, an attempt that went sadly wrong.
In 2018, Land Rover and Chinese racing driver Ho-Pin Tung drove a Range Rover Sport up the 999 steps that make up the “Stairway to Heaven” that climb China’s Tianmen mountain. It was a dazzling stunt, for driving up a staircase that ranges between 45–60 degrees is no simple task, and one that’s certain to have left an impression with any acrophobics out there.
A screenshot of the attempt gone wrong. Credit: Youtube
Chery certainly remembered it. The brand—which in fact is a long-time collaborator with Jaguar Land Rover and next year even takes over the Freelander brand from the British marque—has a new electric SUV called the Fulwin X3L and decided that it, too, was made of the right stuff. The SUV, which costs between $16,500–$22,000 in China, features a plug-in hybrid powertrain, boxy looks, and a whole bunch of off-roading features, including the ability to do tank turns.
Like Land Rover, Chery’s attempt was meant to highlight how capable the Fulwin X3L is when the going gets tough. But unfortunately, one of the safety lines to the SUV somehow became detached. This tangled up with a wheel, causing the Fulwin to slide backwards, taking out some of the railing in the process.
Chery said in a statement that there had been “insufficient estimation of potential risks and oversights in detailed control” for the exercise, and expressed deep regret for the damage caused, promising to shoulder the costs to put everything right, according to CarNews China.