捷途山海临沂慧通: Inside China’s Boldest SUV Showroom Experience

A single showroom visit can change how you see an entire brand. That is exactly what happened at the 捷途山海 (Jetour Shanhai) dealership in Linyi — the 慧通 (Huitong) experience center that sales consultant 陈正正 (Chen Zhengzheng) has helped transform into one of Shandong Province’s most talked-about automotive destinations.

• Location: Linyi City, Shandong Province — a fast-growing automotive retail hub in eastern China
• Brand: Jetour Shanhai, Chery Automobile’s premium adventure-focused SUV sub-brand
• Key figure: Sales consultant Chen Zhengzheng, known for transparent, customer-first presentations
• Why it matters: The Linyi Huitong dealership model is being studied as a blueprint for next-generation Chinese auto retail
• Takeaway: Jetour Shanhai’s product lineup and dealership culture are redefining what buyers expect from a domestic SUV brand

The Rise of Jetour Shanhai: A Brand Built for the Wild

Jetour is not an accident. Chery Automobile — one of China’s oldest and most export-savvy manufacturers — deliberately incubated Jetour as its adventure-lifestyle answer to a market hungry for rugged, design-forward SUVs. The Shanhai (山海, meaning ‘mountains and seas’) sub-brand took that ambition further, positioning itself squarely against both domestic rivals like Tank and international names like Land Rover Defender.

• Jetour reported cumulative global sales exceeding 800,000 units by early 2026, with Shanhai models accounting for a rapidly growing share
• The brand exports to more than 60 countries, making it one of China’s most internationally distributed SUV labels
• Shanhai’s design language draws on Chinese geography — mountain ridges, coastal silhouettes — creating an aesthetic that resonates with younger, outdoors-oriented buyers
• The lineup spans from the compact Shanhai T1 to the flagship Shanhai L9, covering price points between roughly ¥150,000 and ¥300,000

Chery’s Strategic Vision Behind the Shanhai Sub-Brand

Understanding Shanhai requires understanding Chery’s broader ambitions. After decades of competing primarily on value and volume, Chery made a deliberate pivot toward premium positioning in the early 2020s. The Shanhai sub-brand was the clearest expression of that strategy — a dedicated lineup engineered from the ground up rather than adapted from existing platforms. Chery invested heavily in new suspension geometry, noise-dampening materials, and a human-machine interface designed to rival European competitors. The result is a product family that feels architecturally intentional rather than incrementally improved.

What Makes Shanhai Different from Other Chinese SUV Brands

The differentiation is not just cosmetic. Shanhai vehicles are engineered around a dedicated adventure-capable platform, featuring multi-terrain drive modes, reinforced chassis architecture, and — on higher trims — a hybrid powertrain that delivers serious off-road torque without the range anxiety of a pure EV. In independent testing, the Shanhai L6 recorded a wading depth of 700mm, matching figures from far more expensive European competitors.

• Dedicated off-road platform (not a crossover adaptation)
• Available PHEV powertrain with over 1,000km combined range
• Intelligent terrain recognition system with six selectable modes
• 360-degree exterior camera system optimized for trail navigation

The Shanhai Model Lineup: From Entry Trail to Flagship Expedition

Shanhai’s product hierarchy is carefully tiered to capture buyers at different stages of the adventure lifestyle. Each model carries a distinct character while sharing the brand’s core engineering DNA.

Linyi Huitong Dealership: A New Standard for Chinese Auto Retail

Walk into the 临沂慧通 (Linyi Huitong) showroom and the first thing you notice is the space. Most dealerships in tier-three Chinese cities feel transactional — a showroom floor, some brochures, a desk where someone takes your number. Huitong feels different. The layout is organized around the vehicles’ personalities, with each model staged in a setting that evokes its intended use case: rocky terrain, forest trails, coastal highways.

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• The Linyi metropolitan area has a population exceeding 11 million people, making it one of the largest tier-three cities in China — and an increasingly important automotive market
• Huitong operates a multi-brand strategy, but the Shanhai showroom occupies prime floor space, signaling the dealership’s confidence in the product
• Digital configurators allow buyers to build and visualize their vehicle in real time, reducing the average sales cycle by an estimated 30%
• A dedicated test-drive route incorporating unpaved roads gives potential buyers a genuine taste of the vehicle’s off-road capability

Showroom Design Philosophy: Environment as Sales Tool

The Huitong team made a deliberate decision to treat the showroom floor as a storytelling medium. Rather than arranging vehicles in neutral rows under uniform lighting, each Shanhai model is positioned within a curated micro-environment. The L9 sits on a raised platform of textured stone aggregate, evoking mountain approaches. The T1 is flanked by warm timber paneling and soft trail lighting, suggesting forest weekends. This scenographic approach is not accidental — it was developed in collaboration with Jetour’s brand experience team and draws on retail design principles more common in luxury fashion than automotive sales.

Technology Integration Inside the Showroom

Beyond the visual staging, Huitong has invested in digital infrastructure that meaningfully shortens the path from curiosity to commitment. Large-format touchscreen configurators allow customers to select trim levels, exterior colors, and interior combinations, then view the result rendered in real time on a three-dimensional model. A linked pricing module instantly reflects the impact of each choice on monthly financing figures. Sales staff can share the completed configuration directly to a customer’s smartphone, giving buyers something concrete to discuss with family before returning to finalize a purchase.

• Real-time 3D vehicle configurator with instant financing integration
• Configuration sharing via WeChat Mini Program for post-visit review
• On-site PHEV charging demonstration station showing real-world charge times
• Augmented reality overlay feature allowing customers to visualize color options under different lighting conditions

The Role of Chen Zhengzheng in Elevating the Customer Experience

Sales consultants rarely become the story. Chen Zhengzheng is an exception. In the video walkthrough filmed at Huitong in June 2026, Chen demonstrates a presentation style that is notably different from the scripted, pressure-heavy approach still common in many Chinese dealerships. He leads with product knowledge, invites questions early, and addresses pricing with a directness that buyers consistently cite as refreshing.

• Chen covers the full model hierarchy without upselling pressure, letting specifications do the persuading
• He explains the PHEV charging infrastructure available in Linyi, addressing a common buyer concern head-on
• His walkthrough of the interior — particularly the Shanhai’s panoramic roof and second-row legroom — is methodical and visually engaging
• Chen’s approach to after-sales service explanations has become a reference point for new staff training at Huitong

Training Culture Behind the Huitong Sales Team

Chen Zhengzheng’s performance is not an isolated talent — it reflects a deliberate training philosophy embedded across the Huitong sales floor. Consultants undergo regular product immersion sessions that include off-road driving certification, so they can speak from experience rather than from brochure copy. Role-play exercises simulate the most common buyer objections, including concerns about domestic brand reliability, PHEV battery longevity, and resale value. The result is a team that approaches difficult questions as opportunities rather than obstacles.

Why the Linyi Huitong Model Matters for China’s Auto Retail Future

The Huitong dealership is attracting attention beyond Shandong Province because it addresses a structural weakness in Chinese automotive retail: the gap between product quality and the experience of buying that product. As Chinese manufacturers close the engineering gap with international brands, the dealership experience has become a new competitive frontier. Huitong’s approach — combining immersive physical design, digital tools, and rigorously trained consultants — offers a replicable framework that other dealerships and brands are beginning to study seriously.

Lessons Other Dealerships Are Drawing from Huitong

Several dealership groups across Shandong and neighboring Jiangsu Province have sent management teams to Linyi to observe Huitong’s operations firsthand. The most frequently cited takeaways include the value of scenario-based vehicle staging, the measurable impact of real-time digital configurators on sales cycle length, and the competitive advantage created by consultants who have personally driven the vehicles they sell. These are not expensive interventions — they are primarily cultural and operational shifts that require commitment more than capital.

• Scenario-based staging increases customer dwell time and emotional engagement with specific models
• Consultant off-road certification builds credibility that no amount of brochure training can replicate
• Digital configurators reduce post-visit drop-off by giving buyers a tangible artifact to take home
• Transparent pricing conversations shorten negotiation cycles and increase referral rates

Jetour Shanhai’s Competitive Position in 2026 and Beyond

The broader context for the Huitong story is a Chinese SUV market undergoing rapid maturation. Buyers are more informed, more demanding, and less willing to accept the trade-offs that defined domestic vehicles a decade ago. Jetour Shanhai has positioned itself at the intersection of genuine off-road capability, modern design, and competitive pricing — a combination that is proving difficult for both domestic and international competitors to match at equivalent price points. The brand’s export growth further validates that this positioning resonates beyond China’s borders.

Challenges and Opportunities Ahead

No brand trajectory is without friction. Shanhai faces real challenges: the PHEV charging infrastructure in rural areas remains uneven, resale value perceptions for Chinese premium brands are still catching up to reality, and competition from BYD’s off-road-oriented models is intensifying. At the same time, the opportunities are substantial. China’s outdoor recreation economy is growing at double-digit rates annually, creating a natural demand pool for adventure-capable vehicles. Shanhai’s early investment in authentic off-road engineering — rather than styling alone — gives it a credibility foundation that will be difficult for late entrants to replicate quickly.

• Rural PHEV infrastructure gaps remain a buyer concern in markets outside major cities
• Resale value data is accumulating and beginning to support more confident ownership calculations
• Growing outdoor recreation participation among Chinese consumers aged 25–40 directly expands the target demographic
• Export momentum in Southeast Asia and the Middle East provides volume that supports continued R&D investment