Today in China Concept Cars the Chery Faira, a series of seven concept cars unveiled at the 2008 Beijing Auto Show. At the time, the Chinese automotive industry had just started its boom which is still getting stronger today. At auto shows in the mid-2000s, Chinese car brands sometimes unveiled up to 20 concept cars at one show, each! Chery was definitely in on the party.
The Chinese name of the concept car series was 五娃, Wǔwá, which means Five Babies. Chery also used the name 多彩五娃, Duōcǎi Wǔwá: Colorful Five Babies. Early media photos showed five vehicles. But, as we will see, that was not even all of it.
The Wuwa name was very much inspired by the Fuwa (福娃, Friendlies), five colorful dolls that were the mascots of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Volkswagen China was the official automotive sponsor of the Olympic Games, not Chery, but many Chinese brands tried to get a piece of the action by launching products or promotions with Olympic-related names. Check this: Wǔwá: 五娃. Fúwá: 福娃. That’s the same wa.
The actual Faira concept series consisted of seven cars:
- Faira BB: 3-door 2-seat hatchback. Code name: S18B.
- Faira HH: 4-door sedan. Code name: S18C.
- Faira JJ: 5-door wagon. Code name: S18D.
- Faira NN 5-door hatchback. Code name: S18.
- Fairy NN 3-d00r 4-seat hatchback. Code name:
- Faira YY 3-door coupe. Code name: S18E
- Faira YY 2-door convertible. Code name S18F.
The media photos
In the Beijing Auto Show runup, Chery released a flock of media photos. Nothing unusual so far. However, Chery didn’t show all the concept cars in the media photos; some had a different color than the real cars when they were unveiled. This sort of concept car messiness was quite common at the time for Chinese car brands, so we shouldn’t blame Chery too hard for it.
Faira BB
This is the Faira BB, a small 3-door hatchback with two seats. The engine was a 1.1-liter four-cylinder. It was super short and looked like a cartoon car, with big headlights and a large black grille. Interestingly, Chery also fitted roof rails.
Note the luggage net behind the seats.
Faira HH
The HH was a sedan with a short trunk, almost a notchback. Chery called it a ” stylish and economical car.” It has a 1,3-liter four-cylinder engine under the hood. The HH was designed with the famous Italian design studio Torino Design.
Faira JJ 5-door wagon
Chery called it a “small SUV”. It was aimed at “young fashionable people in the future of urban life.”
Faira NN 5-door hatchback
The NN came in two versions: 3-door 4-seats and 5-door 5-seats. The media photos only showed the 5-door version. Like the HH, it was jointly designed by the Italian design studio Torino Design.
It looked almost production-ready. More realistic but also less interesting than the others. Chery said it had a ” European style.”
The engine in the NN was the 1.3 again.
Faira YY 3-door coupe
The coupe was super cool. At the time, many Chinese car brands showed concept cars of sporty small coupes. Sadly, none ever made it to production.
The YY had sporty air vents in the hood, darkened lights, air ducts on the rear fenders, and gray five-spoke wheels. Chery said it was a “small and stylish urban sports coupe.”
It looked racy from the rear, with a small tailgate, wide tires, and a shiny exhaust pipe tip in the bumper.
Faira YY 2-door convertible
This was the convertible variant of the 3-door coupe. It has roll bars behind the seats. The convertible roof is stored in a compartment behind the roll bars. Chery didn’t demonstrate the system, so we can’t be sure if it worked.
The interior looked great with a white-brown color scheme. Chery called it a “fashionable, avant-garde, economical soft-top convertible sports car.”
The Debut
The debut was surprising. Chery only showed five of the seven cars at the initial unveiling ceremony. The other two were unveiled later on.
Faira BB 3-door 2-seat hatchback
The lights are way too large relative to the vehicle, but that gave the Faira BB a distinctive look.
My colleague Erik was walking around the exhibition hall before the show opened. That was still possible at the time. Foreign media had to pick up its media badge a few days before the start of the show at a small office near the exhibition hall.
Nobody stopped you when you walked in, so if you were lucky, you would see all the new cars days before the official unveiling. Eriks’s photos show the Faira concept cars in natural light, so the color seems different.
Faira HH 4-door sedan
The sedan had a completely different front design. It almost looked like an EV, with a tiny grille with the Chery logo. The main grille is in the bumper.
The rear door handle is hidden in the C-pillar.
Faira JJ 5-door wagon
The Faira JJ had a more sophisticated design, with a small grille and darkened headlight visors. The black wheel arch extenders extended into the bumpers.
The JJ previewed a small wagon. Small wagons were popular at the time. Cars like the Buick Sail SR-V, the Geely Pride HQ7130B1U, and the Yema F99.
It has a Faira badge on the right. and a 1.3 engine badge below it.
Faira NN 5-door 4-seat hatchback
This was a surprise. The Faira NN 5-door hatchback in the media pics was red with black door handles. However, the show car was painted green with the door handles in body color. The wheels were the same.
The rear door handle is located on the far side of the door, close to the tail light. It has the same alloy wheels as the HH sedan.
Faira NN 3-door 4-seat hatchback
An even bigger surprise was the Faira NN 3-door hatchback, which hadn’t been shown in the press pics. It looks very similar to the 5-door car, with the same color, but it has two doors.
That makes it similar in concept to the Faira BB, but it is a little longer behind the B-pillar.
It has a shiny exhaust pipe under the bumper.
Chick magnet.
Faira YY 3-door coupe
The Faira YY was probably the coolest of the lot; a small 3-door coupe with a sporty design style.
It had air vents in the hood, air intakes in front of the rear wheels, recessed door handles, and a wild protruding rear fender that neatly ended up in the rear lights.
The top of the grille was wrapped around a tiny Chery logo.
Chery did a better job with the exhaust pipe here, it is integrated in the bumper. It also has 3 parking sensors and a cool keyhole next to the Faira badge.
Faira YY 2-door convertible
The Faira YY 2-door convertible looked ready for the summer. The front was very similar to the coupe, but everything changed behind the A-pillar.
The design looked very much production-ready. Note the ultra-short rear overhang. The windshield extends far over the cabin. Mind your head! Chery didn’t demonstrate the roof mechanism, so I can’t be sure f it had one.
The interior looked great! White and light brown colors. A 3-spoke steering wheel, a shiny center stack with a radio CD player, and a mid-mounted instrument panel. It has a cup holder and a manual transmission handle on the center tunnel. It seems production-ready again.
The third brake light is neatly integrated into the boot lid.
The convertible parked next to the coupe.
What happened to the Faira concept cars?
Only 3 out of 7 Faira’s made it into production, all under the Riich brand, which was founded in 2009. Some cars were rebadged for export.
- Faira BB > Riich M3 EV. Concept only, no production.
- Faira HH > Riich M5. Production.
- Faira JJ > Riich X1. Production.
- Faira NN 5-door > Riich M1, QQ3 Sports. Production.
- Faira NN 3-door > No production.
- Faira YY coupe: No production.
- Faira YY convertible: No production.
Riich M3 concept (2010)
The Riich M3 EV was a concept for a small electric car, unveiled in 2010. Except for the badges and the color, it was identical to the Faira BB. There was no production.
Riich M5 (2010-2014)
The Riich M5 debuted in 2010. Power came from a 1.3-liter four-cylinder petrol engine with 84 hp, mated to a 5-speed manual transmission or a 5-speed automatic. It was a cheap car, the base model sold for 48.800 yuan.
Riich X1 (2010-2012)
The X1 was the coolest, and Riich offered it in various funky colors. Engines: the 84 hp 1.3 or a 109 hp 1.5. Buyers could go for a 5-speed manual or a 5-speed automatic. The base model sold for 52.800 yuan.
Riich M1 (2009-2014) aka: Chery M1,Chery S10, DR1.
The Riich M1 was exported as Chery M1 and Chery S18. It was also assembled in Italy and sold as the DR1. In China, it was always called Riich M1. Engines: 69 hp 1.0-liter 3-pot, or the 84 hp 1.3. Transmission: 5-speed manual only. The base model cost 41.800 yuan.
Chery QQ3 Sport (2012-2014)
Some design elements of the NN were also visible on the Chery QQ3 Sport, a sportier variant of the QQ3, with a redesigned front. Power: the same 69 hp 1.0 as in the Riich M1, mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. The QQ3 Sport cost 37.900 yuan.
That’s it! Thank you for reading until the end. More Chinese concept cars soon.