{"id":851960,"date":"2026-08-11T23:40:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T23:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/851960\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T23:40:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T23:40:17","slug":"chinas-hongqi-to-launch-in-australia-as-luxury-brand-hq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/851960\/","title":{"rendered":"China’s Hongqi to launch in Australia as luxury brand HQ"},"content":{"rendered":"

China\u2019s Hongqi will be sold in Australia as luxury brand \u2018HQ\u2019, with its first model due here in January 2027 and the brand fostering ambitions for 30,000 annual sales across a national dealer network.<\/p>\n

Set to challenge brands including Polestar and Cadillac, as well as Zeekr, Denza and Tesla, Sydney-based distributor Greentech has confirmed Hongqi\u2019s local launch under the abbreviated HQ name.<\/p>\n

It will be the first time Hongqi parent company FAW, one of China\u2019s largest vehicle manufacturers, will sell passenger cars in Australia, having only offered commercial vehicles here.<\/p>\n

China’s oldest car brand, Hongqi started in the 1950s as a limousine maker for high-ranking officials. It still makes sumptuous large sedans such as the V8-powered Hongqi Golden Sunflower Guoli, priced from \u00a57.18 million (A$1.51 million).<\/p>\n

Looking for your next car?<\/p>\n

CarExpert can help you research<\/a>, compare<\/a> and buy<\/a> so you choose with confidence.<\/p>\n

\"AHongqi E-HS9<\/p>\n

FAW has manufacturing partnerships in China with Volkswagen Group and Toyota, as well as a more recent collaboration with Leapmotor, which has Dutch-based Stellantis as a stakeholder.<\/p>\n

Hongqi plans to launch 15 new electric and hybrid models in Europe by 2028, according to a report by\u00a0Automotive News<\/a>\u00a0late last year.<\/p>\n

Speaking to\u00a0CarExpert, Greentech CEO Jim Wu said the HQ brand will combine smart technology and luxury to position itself \u201cabove Tesla\u201d in Australia, with plans for a dealer in each capital city across the country.<\/p>\n

With an initial aim of 500 sales per month, the brand has a longer-term goal of 30,000 annual sales, which would have placed it around 14th overall based on 2025 new-car sales figures, behind Chery but ahead of Volkswagen. In terms of luxury brands, Mercedes-Benz placed 16th with 27,581 sales, with BMW just behind in 17th with 26,842 sales.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The first Australian model will be the E-HS9, a large three-row electric SUV scheduled to arrive in Australia in January 2027. It was also the first model to reach European showrooms, having arrived in Norway in 2021.<\/p>\n

Local pricing and equipment levels are yet to be announced, but we know the E-HS9 measures 5209mm long, 2010mm wide and 1713mm high, with a 3110mm wheelbase, making it comparable in size to the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV<\/a>, Volvo EX90<\/a> and Cadillac Vistiq<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Models sold in Europe use a 400V electrical system with a 160kW\/300Nm front electric motor and 245kW\/450Nm rear motor for all-wheel drive and a claimed 4.9-second 0-100km\/h time.<\/p>\n

\"Interior<\/p>\n

Entry-level versions use a 99kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery for a 465km WLTP range, with top-spec models running a 120kWh battery for a WLTP range of 515km.<\/p>\n

Six- and seven-seat configurations are available, with the six-seat versions featuring second-row captain\u2019s chairs. The interior includes leather upholstery, twin 16.2-inch displays and an electric panoramic roof.<\/p>\n

Higher-spec models come with 22-inch alloy wheels, an upgraded sound system and interior fragrance diffusers.<\/p>\n

\"HongqiHongqi EHS<\/p>\n

Mr Wu said a second model will join the E-HS9 in April 2027, described only as a mid-size SUV, meaning it could be the EHS7 (no hyphen) currently in European showrooms which, at 4925mm long, is still quite large.<\/p>\n

Priced from 544,900kr (A$81,336), the EHS7 is similar in size to the BMW iX<\/a> and marginally shorter than the Cadillac Lyriq<\/a>, and offers batteries of up to 111kWh for as much as 540km of WLTP range.<\/p>\n

More likely is the EHS5, which at 4750mm long is 40mm shorter than a Tesla Model Y<\/a> and sits on a 2900mm wheelbase, making it the smallest of this trio of Hongqi SUVs sold in Europe.<\/p>\n

It has 202kW and 210kW motors on its front and rear axles respectively, for a combined 420kW, with an 85kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery offering a 522km WLTP range and a claimed 0-100km\/h time of 4.0 seconds. <\/p>\n

\"AHongqi EHS5<\/p>\n

It also offers a 400V electrical system and DC fast-charging at up to 265kW, and is priced from 439,900kr (A$65,663), slightly less than the Tesla Model Y Long Range\u2019s 449,900kr (A$67,148) starting price.<\/p>\n

Hongqi also offers the smaller HS3 SUV in parts of Europe, such as Italy, and offers a number of SUVs and sedans in China that could make it to Australian showrooms.<\/p>\n

MORE: Chinese cars now account for a third of all new vehicles sold in Australia<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"China\u2019s Hongqi will be sold in Australia as luxury brand \u2018HQ\u2019, with its first model due here in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":851961,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-851960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=851960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851960\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/851961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=851960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=851960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=851960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}