Hongqi, the oldest car brand in China, is planning to make its way to Australia. The auto giant is aiming to compete with top-tier German brands like Audi, Mercedes, and BMW.
As per reports, Hongqi has plans to start selling its vehicles in Australia from next year. It is expected to enter the Land Down Under with three electric or hybrid SUVs. It also hopes that by the end of the decade, it will sell more cars in Australia than BMW or Mercedes, and double that of Audi.
Jim Wu, CEO of Hongqi’s Australian importer Greentech – and a co-founder of Chinese EV brand Leapmotor, said, “We hope we can be more luxurious, more premium than Audi. We will be about similar [to] BMW and Mercedes-Benz.”
Apart from the German trio, Hongqi will also lock horns with its Chinese counterparts in Australia – Zeekr and Denza. The company is likely to introduce the E-HS9 as its first EV here. It is a 5.2-metre-long, 7-seater SUV sized similarly to a BMW X7, Mercedes GLS, or upcoming Zeekr 9X plug-in hybrid.
Source: Drive
