Chinese carmaker Chery has officially taken a bold step into the future by becoming one of the first robot makers to sell its humanoid product directly to the public.
The brand’s subsidiary, AiMoga, has begun listing its Morine M1 humanoid on JD.com, a major Chinese retailer often dubbed the “Amazon of China.”
The listing appears via AiMoga’s flagship store on the platform, which quietly opened on April 2.
In an ad that is circulating on the internet, the AiMoga Morine robot is being described as a “Ultra-realistic AI assistant for humans” and a “worthy AI assistant you can trust.”
And it doesn’t come cheap.
The M1 humanoid robot is priced at 285,800 yuan ($41,842), while the four-legged robotic dog is listed at roughly 15,800 yuan ($2,313).
Chery is believed to be the first car company worldwide to offer a humanoid robot for sale to the public.
What do you actually get for that price?
According to product specs, the M1 weighs 70kg and stands 167cm tall, with 40 degrees of movement across its body.
Its top walking speed is 1 m/s, and its arms can carry up to 1.5kg.
The company says the robot has been designed to perform dual-hand tasks, open car doors autonomously, and be controlled remotely using VR – features that would come in handy in potential roles such as sales, assistant, or receptionist.
The adult-sized humanoid is powered by a 0.7 kWh battery that delivers about two hours of operation after a 2-hour charge.
The robot is packed with sensors, including 3D LiDAR, depth cameras, a wide-angle camera, and ultrasonic radar, allowing it to navigate and interact with its surroundings.
Chery sees AiMoga as a key third growth curve to drive future overall revenue.
As a result, the brand could be considering bringing the robot to Australia.
It already made an appearance in early 2026.
Chery recently showed off the technology at a local launch event earlier this year.
Chery Motor Australia chief operating officer Lucas Harris said the company has invested heavily in AI and robotics, but admits it is still in the early days.
“It’s very early in development, and there’s a lot of work being done to try and find real commercial uses,” he said back in February.
“There’s a bit being done in China, actually, with the police in our hometown, and being used for traffic control and those sorts of things.
“It’s very early days in trying to find a commercialised purpose, but I think the technology is pretty exciting, pretty interesting.”
The carmaker believes robots could eventually reshape how cars are sold, particularly in shopping centres where staffing can be a challenge.
“You’re seeing more and more cars being displayed in shopping centres, right?” Harris says.
“It’s quite hard to manage those shopping centres … it is hard to find people that actually want to do that work, and customers don’t want to be sold a car in the shopping centre either.
“It’s much less confrontational for customers, because a robot’s not going to sell you anything. It’s just going to help you.”
With high-tech robots already taking over retail stores across China, the prospect of humanoid sales assistants is closer than ever.
Especially considering many global carmakers are pouring billions into robotics and AI in a major shift towards automating production lines and staff.
Chinese rival XPeng has already revealed a strikingly human-like robot, which they had to cut open to prove its metallic skeleton.
Other brands like Tesla, Hyundai, and Honda are working on their own robots too.
However, there are still signs that even the biggest players are still grappling with the challenges of turning science fiction into reality.
Elon Musk recently hit the brakes on the much-anticipated unveiling of the Optimus Gen 3 after admitting the humanoid needed finishing touches before its reveal.
