The HQ E-HS9 will go on sale down under from January with a price starting from below $150,000 before on-roads, with the all-electric SUV’s launch also revealing that the brand wants to bring a sedan to Australia… and hopefully, a BEV ute.

At 2636kg and 5209mm long, 1713mm tall and 2010mm wide with a 3110mm wheelbase and imposing looks, the E-HS9 will be hard to miss when it makes it onto our roads – and hard to overtake, with 405kW and 606Nm on tap. That gives the HQ – as Hongqi will be known down under – a surprising 0-100km/h time of just 5.5 seconds. 

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Aussies will get the top-spec battery, a 120kWh nickel manganese cobalt unit made by CATL. Range is a claimed 548km on the WLTP cycle, and the E-HS9 also uses 400V architecture and supports AC charging at up to 11kW, with DC charging at a maximum of 140kW.

The six-seat, three-row interior is full of soft-touch materials, with captain’s chairs in the second row. All the pews are finished in leather and faux suede, and the front seats can massage their occupants.

Twin 15.6-inch touchscreens feature on the dash, plus the E-HS9 gets LED headlights, a full suite of driver safety aids, infotainment system supporting Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 21-inch alloy wheels, a Bose stereo with 16 speakers, and a choice of three colours for the interior.

As you’d expect, there’s a fair bit of space on offer inside; boot space is 255 litres with the third row in use, increasing to 1747 litres with them folded. Strangely, while there is a lot of room to be had under the bonnet, there isn’t a front trunk.

While final pricing hasn’t been revealed, Greentech Smart EV CEO Jim Wu confirmed at the launch that it will sell for less than $150,000 before on-roads. Aussies who order before January 18 next year can get big cashback offers too: $10,000 cashback on a deposit of $20,000, falling to $5000 for $10,000 deposits and $1250 for outlays of $5000.

Wu also flagged a sales target of 1000 vehicles a month in Australia, rising to 2500-3000 a month once the brand – which is known for making limousines for Chinese leaders since the 1950s – gets five models under its belt locally. 

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It’s an optimistic goal that, if reached, would see HQ beat heavyweights like BMW in the Aussie luxury market. And that segment is what HQ is all about, according to Wu, who also flagged that he only wants to sell fully electric vehicles down under.

One of those five models will be a medium-to-large sedan, Wu said, with three SUVs in total. But the fifth, Wu hopes, will be an all-electric ute. Pressed on its chances of becoming a reality, he said he is in “negotiations” with parent company FAW, and believes sales of 500 to 1000 a month would justify its development.