Hongqi, China’s oldest passenger-car brand, will launch in Australia under the shortened HQ name with three electric SUVs confirmed to arrive and first customer deliveries expected from January 2027.

Owned by Chinese automotive giant FAW Group, Hongqi was created in 1958 and has a long history of producing luxury vehicles for Chinese government officials. In Australia, however, HQ will reportedly position itself as a technology-focused luxury alternative to established brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and Range Rover.

Front three-quarter view of a silver luxury SUV with a bold vertical chrome grille (E-HS9) in a futuristic tunnel setting.
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Hongqi has already appointed a local CEO and managing director, Jim Wu, who has outlined the brand’s local ambitions, saying it expects to take market share from luxury rivals. HQ vehicles are expected to be priced below German marques, but still offer high levels of standard equipment and technology.

The first Hongqi product to launch locally will be the E-HS9 (pictured), which is a seven-seat large electric SUV that measures more than 5200mm in length. Overseas versions feature a dual-motor all-wheel drive drivetrain making 320kW of power and 600Nm of torque, with a 120kWh battery offering up to 515km of driving range on the WLTP cycle. The first Australian customer deliveries of the E-HS9 are expected in January, with local specifications yet to be announced.

The E-HS9 will be joined by the smaller EHS4 and EHS5 electric SUVs within six months, allowing the brand to cover the small, medium and large sections of the extremely popular market segment. The EHS4 is expected to compete with models like the BMW iX1, while the larger EHS5 will target the larger BMW iX3, as well as volume sellers such as the Tesla Model Y and Zeekr 7X.

A fourth model is also on the cards, with HQ confirming plans for an electric sedan roughly comparable in size to the BMW i5 and Mercedes-Benz EQE. That model could be the EH7, which is already sold in some overseas markets with up to 655km of WLTP driving range.

The company is targeting around 1000 sales per month once all three SUVs are established locally, with a longer-term goal of 30,000 annual sales. It also plans a 15-dealer national network, including company-operated flagship locations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Unlike Hongqi’s domestic range, which also includes hybrid and ICE-powered models, its line-up down under will be electric-only. We’ll know more about the Australian HQ range closer to its early 2027 local launch.