Chinese luxury brand Hongqi targets Range Rover in Australia

The local boss of electric luxury brand HQ says the company will launch in Australia late this year as a proudly Chinese rival to established German and British brands, with three models confirmed for local showrooms.

Australia will be the first country where Hongqi vehicles are sold under the abbreviated HQ brand. Its first model will be the three-row E-HS9 electric SUV.

HQ intends to sell only battery-electric vehicles in Australia, rather than the hybrid technology offered in its Chinese-market models, which include a V8 hybrid flagship sedan.

Hongqi is known for its ultra-luxury limousines, having produced presidential vehicles for the Chinese government for almost seven decades.

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Plans include 15 dealerships across Australia, five of which will be owned and operated by the brand. These flagship dealerships will be located in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

HQ is part of FAW Group (formerly First Auto Works), China’s oldest car manufacturer, which reported producing 3.3 million vehicles last year.

Speaking to CarExpert at the Everything Electric show in Sydney, HQ Australia CEO and managing director Jim Wu said he expects the first deliveries to Australian customers in mid-January 2027.

“The brand position we hope may be the same, similar to Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi,” Mr Wu said.

“We will take market share from Range Rover, that kind of level. From Mercedes-Benz, we will also take some market share, but maybe not so much.”

Mr Wu was a co-founder of Leapmotor, in which Stellantis – the parent company of brands including Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Maserati and Peugeot – is a stakeholder.

Leapmotor and Hongqi have a technology-sharing arrangement to develop new models.

This will see the EHS4 SUV, one of the three models confirmed for Australian showrooms, use the LEAP 3.5 modular architecture that also underpins the Leapmotor B10 currently sold here.

HQ hopes to reach its initial sales target of 1000 vehicles a month around June next year, once all three models confirmed for Australia have arrived in local showrooms.