Skip to main content

Chinese Qoros Cross Hybrid Concept to debut at Geneva Motor Show

China is entering the hybrid automotive field with a new brand called Qoros. The name may sound like a planet from Star Trek, but it’s actually a joint venture between Chery Automotive, one of China’s largest car companies, and Israel Corporation, an industrial holding company. Qoros plans to debut an all-new hybrid at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

“We are a new company without any legacy or previous history, which gives us a great advantage because we are starting from scratch with a clean sheet of paper,” Qoros vice chairman Volker Steinwascher said in a press release at the brand’s launch, making his company sound a little like China’s version of Tesla Motors.

Recommended Videos

So far, though, Qoros isn’t offering a midsize luxury sedan with the accelerative ferocity of a BMW M5. The company’s first car will be the GQ3, a C-segment (compact sedan), which kind of looks like a Chrysler 200 with the front end from a Scion tC.

A second Qoros model, the Cross Hybrid Concept, will debut alongside the GQ3 at Geneva. According to the China Daily, its gasoline engine will power the front wheels, while an electric will power the rear wheels.

Interestingly, the Cross Hybrid Concept will be able to switch between front-, rear-, and all-wheel drive; most cars with a rear-mounted electric motor start out with all-wheel drive and de-power the rear axle when the electricity runs out. The concept was designed by Gert Volker Hildebrand, who led the redesign of the Mini.

Details on the new hybrid will be revealed at Geneva, but Qoros is saying that it will have a state of the art infotainment system. An eight-inch touchscreen will perform typical functions like controlling audio and navigation functions, and the system will have Cloud and social media connectivity.

Qoros will also offer concierge services, including traffic information, point of interest search capability, and an automatic emergency services alert (think OnStar). Qoros plans to make infotainment standard on all models.

The hybrid crossover and GQ3 sedan and wagon will be built in a new factory in Changshu, China. The conventional GQ3 sedan and wagon are set to go on sale in China in mid-2013, with a production version of the Cross Hybrid Concept scheduled for a 2014 launch.

Qoros has no plans to sell its cars in the United States. It’s targeting young urban professionals in China and Europe instead.

Stephen Edelstein
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
Digital Trends’ Top Tech of CES 2025 Awards
Top Tech of CES

Las Vegas is overrun. Every billboard in town is shouting about AI, hotel bar tops now sport a sea of laptops, and after hours The Strip is elbow to elbow with engineers toting yard-long beers.

That means CES, the year’s biggest tech bacchanalia, has come to town, and Digital Trends editors have spent the last four days frolicking among next year’s crop of incredible TVs, computers, tablets, and EVs. We’re in heaven.

Read more
Sony and Honda’s Afeela 1 EV makes more sense at CES than in the real world
Afeela 1 front quarter view.

The Sony car is almost here. After its creation via a joint venture with Honda in 2022 and two years’ worth of prototypes, the electronics giant’s Afeela brand is finally taking reservations for its first electric vehicle, with deliveries scheduled to start in 2026.

But will it be worth the wait? Coinciding with the opening of reservations, Sony Honda Mobility brought updated prototypes of the Afeela 1 (as it’s now officially known) to CES 2025, representing what California customers (Afeela is only taking reservations in that state) who put down a $200 refundable deposit can expect when they take delivery.

Read more
Bose wants to dominate car audio, and I heard its next-gen 3D automotive speakers
Bose logo on a speaker grille

Bose’s automotive audio business is huge, and it’s set to get even bigger. The company has been making big plays in car audio for some time now. The audio company works with premium brands like Porsche, building high-end speakers that allow drivers to experience high-quality audio on the road, whether they’re carting the family around in an Escalade or weaving around the highway (don’t do that) in a Porsche Macan.

But while it has a solid selection of audio brands under its belt, the world of personal audio is also evolving. Mercedes-Benz showed off its Dolby Atmos system at CES last year, and now, a year later, plenty of other brands are joining the trend. At CES 2025, Bose walked me through its current lineup of automotive audio products, as well as a sneak peek of what’s to come.
Immersive audio
The big trend in all areas of personal audio right now essentially boils down to supporting 3D audio formats like Dolby Atmos. Consumer home theater products are increasingly offering up-firing and side-firing speakers that can bounce audio around the room to simulate height and surround effects, while headphone brands are increasingly developing spatialized audio tech that can convert stereo audio into simulated spatial audio.

Read more