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Hongqi will launch in Australia during the first half of 2027.
Three SUVs lead the charge, including one range-extender model.
Its flagship Guoli sedan costs the equivalent of AU$1.5 million in China.
Australia’s new car market has been flooded with new entrants from China in recent years, and soon, yet another brand could start selling its models locally. This one is Hongqi, the marque Mao Zedong favored and the default choice for ferrying Chinese politicians and dignitaries. Now it wants Australian buyers, and one model in its lineup carries a price that makes a Rolls-Royce Phantom look like a bargain.
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A trio of SUVs from Hongqi will be the brand’s first models available locally, with sales expected to begin in the first half of 2027. These will include the all-electric E-HS9 SUV and the electric , mid-size EHS5, as well as a third smaller model to launch as a range-extender. Local pricing details for these models haven’t been confirmed, but they’ll likely be priced to rival models from Denza and Zeekr, the luxury arms of BYD and Geely.
Read: Mao’s Old Limo Brand Is Now Outselling Rolls-Royce In China Two To One
There’s plenty of local demand for premium vehicles in these segments, so Hongqi has many potential customers to tap. However, if the brand also decides to import its high-end ‘Golden Sunflower’ series of models in Australia , it’s hard to imagine how they could sell in any significant numbers.
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More Luxury Could Come
Hongqi EHS5
In China , the most expensive version of the Guoli, a retro-styled luxury sedan, starts at the equivalent of AU$1.5 million (US$1.07 million), making it one of the nation’s most expensive new cars and positioning it well above most other luxury cars built in the People’s Republic. Speaking with Drive , a Hongqi insider appeared hopeful the Golden Sunflower series models would launch locally, but stopped short of confirming it.
Hongqi Guoli
“Will the Sunflower series come to Australia? Look, I would love to see it, just because it’ll be something different on the road,” they said. “Yes, the styling is going to be a little bit different – but we do have other models that are available to us. Hongqi in China is going to be developing 13 brand-new models in the space of the next two and a bit years, so we do have a raft of other models that we can have access to.”
Strong demand Down Under for models from brands like Denza and Zeekr shows that many locals are willing to pay premium prices for higher-end cars from China. However, we’d be astonished if there were many millionaires or billionaires tempted out of a Rolls-Royce Phantom by a Hongqi Guoli in Australia. Doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, does it?
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