March 20, the all-new electric sedan of FAW Hongqi – Hongqi EH7 was officially launched. A total of 5 models were launched, with a price range of 229,800($30000)-309,800 yuan.
Hongqi EH7 is the first model launched under Hongqi New Energy’s new strategy, built on a brand-new FMEs “banner” super architecture, and positioned as a medium and large-sized sedan. In terms of appearance, the new car uses a new design language. The front face adopts a closed grille, and in the center is a brand-new Hongqi new energy logo. It is matched with the digital “7” shaped headlight group on both sides, with a high overall recognition. The lower grille of the bumper presents a “smile” style, and the front face axis design has a strong brand feature.
On the side of the body, the new car adopts a two-tone body design, with smooth overall lines. Like the mainstream electric vehicles on the market, the new car also uses a hidden door handle. In terms of size, the length, width, and height of the new car are 4980/1915/1490mm, and the wheelbase is 3000mm, positioned as a pure electric medium and large-sized vehicle. For comparison, the length, width, and height of Xiaomi SUV are 4997/1963/1440mm, and the wheelbase is 3000mm. At the rear of the car, the new car’s taillights adopt a through-type design, and the light groups on both sides are also designed in the shape of the digital “7”, and are smoked. After the taillights are lit, the light strips in the lamp cavity present a visual effect similar to wings, with a high degree of recognition.
In the interior, the new car adopts a minimalist design style, equipped with a 6-inch and 15.5-inch curved dual-screen, built-in AR HUD head-up display system, and there are hardly any physical buttons in the car. The seats are designed in one piece, presenting a young and sporty atmosphere.
In terms of power, the new car provides single-motor two-wheel drive and dual-motor four-wheel drive models. Among them, the two-wheel drive model is matched with a rear-mounted single motor, with a maximum power of 253 kilowatts and a peak torque of 450 Newton meters; the four-wheel drive model is matched with front and rear double motors, with a total power of 455 kilowatts and a total torque of 756 Newton meters. The long-range model is equipped with a 111kW·h ternary lithium battery pack from CATL. The working condition range is 760km and 820km respectively. Under normal temperature, it only takes 20 minutes to charge the battery from 10% to 80%.
In January 2023, FAW released the global strategy of the Hongqi new energy brand. Xu Liuping, who was then the chairman of FAW Group, said: “The Hongqi brand will go all in on new energy and promote the electrification of all models in the whole domain.” In April of the same year, three sub-brands, “Hongqi Jinkuihua”, “Hongqi New Energy”, and “Hongqi Energy-Saving Vehicles”, among which the logo of the Hongqi new energy sub-brand is “Qimei Shuangyi”, which means “the young eagle spreads its wings and stimulates life”. Two new products, Hongqi E001 and Hongqi E202, were simultaneously unveiled at the auto show. And the Hongqi EH7 that is on the market this time is exactly the first product to use the logo of the Hongqi new energy brand.
Considering the positioning and price of the new car, as a new domestic “7 Series” sedan, it will compete with BYD Han EV, Xiaopeng P7, Geely 007, and Xiaomi SU7, which will be launched soon after its launch. As the first model launched under the new strategy of Hongqi New Energy, whether the new car can become the main model of Hongqi brand in the new energy sedan market in the future remains to be verified.
It should be noted that although the Hongqi brand began to layout the new energy strategy in 2018, its performance in new energy is very ordinary. In the highly competitive new energy track, Hongqi only has two models, E-QM5 and E-HS9. Retail data shows that in 2023, the cumulative sales of E-QM5 were 79,616 vehicles, while E-HS9 was only 5,384 vehicles.
At present, China FAW is going all in on the new energy strategy and is transforming to new energy vehicles in all aspects. According to the plan, by 2025, the target sales of the Hongqi brand will exceed 1 million vehicles, and the sales of new energy vehicles will be 500,000 vehicles. By 2030, the target sales of the Hongqi brand will exceed 1.5 million vehicles, and new energy vehicles will become the main sales. However, compared with BYD, which has already gone all in on new energy, the current sales of Hongqi still rely on fuel vehicles. In addition, with the intensified competition in the auto market, the reshuffle of the new energy track is inevitable. In this context, there will not be much time left for the Hongqi brand.
The latest data shows that in January and February this year, Hongqi’s cumulative retail sales were 65,300 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 37.56%. According to the plan, the sales target of China FAW this year is 3.47 million vehicles, among which Hongqi and Pentium will undertake 550,000-650,000 vehicles, and the annual sales of Hongqi brand will need to reach 400,000-500,000 vehicles. It is worth mentioning that previously, Hongqi had postponed the goal of achieving sales of one million vehicles from 2025 to 2028, and the sales proportion of new energy vehicles will also be increased from 50% to 70% at that time. How to seize more market share in the fiercely competitive new energy market is an important task for Hongqi in the future.