chery-alpha-5-concept-shanghai 1330

The orange wonder you see above is the Chery Alpha 5, a concept sedan that previews the Arrizo 5, an upcoming vehicle that will straddle the gap between the Arrizo 3 and Arrizo 7.

It's actually an evolution of Beijing 2014's Concept Alpha, which appeared to have come straight out of the designer's canvas - at least there're door handles now! Same five-twin spoke alloys, but everything now looks more 'productionised', including the headlamps, tail lamps and front bumper.

Pretty well-proportioned, this thing - we like the way the headlamps are attached to the front grille, and the side profile, although not the most original of designs, is easy on the eye.

CarNewsChina reports that the production Arrizo 5 will get 126 hp/155 Nm 1.6 litre and 130 hp/212 Nm 1.2 litre turbo engines, plus five-speed manual and CVT gearboxes, when it launches in China later this year.

Meanwhile, sitting in a corner is the interestingly-named @ANT3 concept. Never mind that ants don't have wings; this is Chery's idea of the future - an "individualised urban public transport system".

Peer into the futuristic interior and you'll find no steering wheel. Instead, there's a central joystick which can be used to drive the car or control any of its functions. Intelligent drive with vehicle following system, wireless charging and cloud connection concepts are touted.