FAW brought in Rolls-Royce’s former design chief, Giles Taylor, to modernise its look and Hongqi’s product lineup was plumped up to include electric vehicles and SUVs, broadening the brand’s appeal.Tired of being driven around in Soviet-built sedans in the 1950s, Chinese leader Mao Zedong wanted China, a rising power globally, to have its own state limousine and commissioned a locally produced car.
The brand, Hongqi or Red Flag, became a national champion and ferried high-ranking officials for decades before it fell out of favour as foreign competitors entered the Chinese market and Hongqi’s gas-guzzling engines became untenable.
Volkswagen’s Audi went on to become the brand for Chinese government officials. In contrast, Hongqi’s sales were so low that there were times when production ceased. An expansion into mass-market sedans with more affordable pricing from 2013 failed to bring substantive growth.
The comeback kid
However, Hongqi has undergone a remarkable turnaround over the past seven years, largely due to considerable backing from owner FAW – the state group known as the “eldest son” of China’s auto industry.
FAW brought in Rolls-Royce’s former design chief, Giles Taylor, to modernise its look and Hongqi’s product lineup was plumped up to include electric vehicles and SUVs, broadening the brand’s appeal.
Benefiting from a nationalist agenda pushed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Hongqi once again became the brand of choice for government officials. Moreover, its modernised boxy styling has garnered a fan base among younger Chinese keen for a taste of “national pride luxury”.
“The impressive exterior design is the primary reason most people buy a Hongqi,” said Qin, a university student in Hunan province and head of a Hongqi fan club with dozens of members.
Qin, who only gave his surname, added that to his surprise, most members are young like him, mainly aged 25 to 30, and half are female.
The sales surge
Hongqi may not have the market share of EV powerhouse BYD or have generated the splash that smartphone maker Xiaomi did with its maiden car – a sporty electric sedan, but it’s more than holding its own among a number of Chinese auto brands that have aggressively expanded into EVs. Hongqi sold fewer than 5,000 cars in 2017. Last year, it sold about 412,000, a jump of 17.4 per cent over a year earlier and easily outpacing the 5.8 per cent industry average for automakers in China, the world’s biggest auto market.
This year, the brand is aiming for about 500,000, half of which it hopes will come from a doubling of sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids.
Beyond 2025, “we have ambitions to get to a million cars,” Taylor, who has been FAW’s global vice president for design since 2018, told Reuters in an interview, without providing a timeline.
Greener fields abroad
Given a lengthy and punishing price war in China, boosting overseas sales will be key, and FAW said in 2023 that it wants a quarter of Hongqi’s sales to come from abroad by 2030.
Hongqi shipped a first batch of 600 electric sedans and SUVs to Europe in November 2024. The brand has 10 EV and plug-in hybrid models in China currently. By 2028, it wants to offer 15 such models across 25 European markets.
Taylor said markets like Germany, where consumers are loyal to brands like Mercedes and BMW, will be tough, but Hongqi can offer value for money within the premium car segment by loading cars with “technology European carmakers can’t access yet or find too expensive.”
That could include tech like the AI cockpit system used in its Tiangong EV lineup that offers voice-activated control, memorises seat angle and temperature preferences, and recommends mood-based playlists.
Hongqi also launched three models in Mexico this year, marking its entry into the Americas, and has begun taking orders for its ultra-luxury sub-brand Golden Sunflower in Kuwait and other countries in the Middle East.
That said, Hongqi will have its work cut out for it.
“Outside China, Hongqi loses that natural home-field advantage of being the national champion, of being the president’s car. They’ve got to figure out how to sell themselves to people who have no idea what Hongqi stands for,” said Tu Le, founder of consultancy Sino Auto Insights.
No longer staid
The new-look Hongqi is keen to tout its innovative takes.
At the Shanghai auto show in April, it showcased a flying concept car as well as a “science-project” luxury vehicle with fully biodegradable materials for the interior, including carpet derived from seaweed and seat covers partially made from mushrooms.
For its wealthiest customers, Hongqi debuted a 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) customised Golden Sunflower limousine, which takes design cues from ancient Chinese calligraphy.
In many ways, its newfound success is emblematic of how Chinese automakers have outclassed their foreign rivals – developing EVs far more quickly and offering an array of snazzy features like advanced driver-assistance at cheaper price points.
China sales for main rival Audi slid 10.9 per cent last year to just under 650,000 vehicles, down from a peak of about 729,000 in 2023.
Hoping to stem the decline in its biggest market, Audi is developing cars with joint venture partner SAIC under a new China-only EV brand called AUDI that lacks its distinctive four-ring logo. The first model, the E5 Sportback, hit the market in September but sales thus far have been modest.
