FAW Hongqi has made a breakthrough with a solar sunroof that can produce as much as 400kWh of energy a year, with the Chinese luxury brand aiming to use the tech to increase the range of its vehicles by 80km per day.

The sunroof uses perovskite photovoltaic technology that consists of synthetic solar cells. Dubbed an “inexpensive and revolutionary” step forward by the CSIRO, the method allows the cells to be made into a thin film. It’s regarded as more stable than traditional panels made using silicon.

Front view of a purple SUV with a black roof, modern LED headlights, and a silver license plate reading EHS7 on a neutral backdrop.
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Fitted to the Hongqi EHS7 electric SUV (pictured above), the sunroof generated 300W of real-time power, according to CarNewsChina. The manufacturer says that is enough to take care of car functions like airconditioning, security systems, monitoring cameras and refrigeration.

The development wasn’t without its challenges. While perovskite tech is very efficient and reliable, it comes with drawbacks, too. Early products were less durable and stable than the silicon versions, and came with higher environmental impacts.

Hongqi’s engineers had to get around perovskite’s vulnerability to moisture and high temperatures, as well as figure out how to get it to work over the curved surface of the sunroof.  The brand now plans to use the technology on other parts of its vehicles, such as the hood, with the aim of generating 10kWh of electricity per day to add that 80km of range.  

Australia would be ideally placed to benefit from the development given it ranks as one of the sunniest places on the planet. In terms of global horizontal irradiance, which measures how much energy from the sun hits flat surfaces like solar panels, only Africa can equal us.

Side view of a purple SUV with large alloy wheels on a light gray background.
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Furthermore, Hongqi’s Aussie distributor Greentech confirmed earlier this month that the brand is coming down under in January next year and will be sold under the HQ name. 

FAW, which is China’s oldest state-owned carmaker, has previously sold commercial vehicles here but the news about HQ marks its first move into passenger cars in Australia. Hongqi is hoping for annual sales of up to 30,000 as it focuses on luxury products, with the E-HS9 three-row electric SUV the first model to go on sale.