China’s oldest and most prestigious luxury marque, HongQi (officially branded locally as HQ), is officially entering the market in Australia with the debut of its imposing E-HS9 flagship electric SUV. It has outlined an ambitious product roadmap that could eventually include an all-electric dual-cab ute.
Driving Enthusiast attended the brand’s official Australia launch this week, where local importer and distributor Greentech Smart EV pulled the covers off the 5.2-metre, six-seat flagship. Priced from under $150,000 before on-road costs, the E-HS9 is designed to go head-to-head with upper-large luxury SUVs such as the Cadillac Vistiq and Lexus TX – with more than a passing hint of the latter in its upright, slab-sided proportions and commanding front grille treatment.
Styled under the direction of former Rolls-Royce design chief Giles Taylor, the E-HS9 measures an expansive 5209mm long, 2010mm wide, and 1713mm tall, riding on a 3110mm wheelbase, and 21-inch alloy wheels. Visual hallmarks include HongQi’s signature ‘Red Line’ bonnet crest, Matrix LED lighting with a choreographed welcome sequence, and an external C-pillar battery charge indicator.
Under the skin, the 2636kg three-row cruiser utilises a dual-motor all-wheel drive setup producing 411kW of power and 606Nm of peak torque, good for a 0–100km/h sprint in 5.5 seconds and a 200km/h top speed. Feeding the motors is a massive 120kWh ternary lithium (NMC) battery pack yielding a claimed WLTP touring range of 548km. However, because it relies on a 400-volt electrical architecture capping DC fast-charging at 140kW, replenishing that huge cell pack from 10 to 80 per cent requires a relatively lengthy 48 minutes, alongside 11kW three-phase AC capability.
Speaking with Driving Enthusiast at the Sydney reveal, HQ Australia executive Chris Nguyen confirmed the E-HS9 is underpinned by an aluminium chassis paired with adaptive air suspension featuring continuous damping control and variable ride height – though whether the system utilises a single or dual-chamber air spring arrangement remains unconfirmed at this stage.
Inside, the cabin adopts a 2+2+2 six-seat layout featuring heated and ventilated ‘zero-gravity’ seats across the first two rows, front massage functionality, four-zone climate control, and a 16-speaker Bose sound system. The dashboard is dominated by a digital instrument cluster alongside dual 15.6-inch 2.5K screens for infotainment and the front passenger, plus a 65-inch augmented-reality head-up display powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 chip and an AI voice assistant integrating DeepSeek and Qianwen language models. Boot space sits at 255 litres behind the third row, expanding to 1747 litres folded.
“The E-HS9 is the clearest expression of what we mean by ‘Smart & Luxury’ – a high-end SUV with the range, refinement and intelligence to suit Australian roads and drivers, from the school run to long-range journeys,” said Jim (Baojun) Wu, managing director and CEO of Greentech Smart EV.
While the E-HS9 serves as the brand’s halo opener, the smaller, volume-focused E-HS4 SUV will follow in just a few weeks in December. Management confirmed the local lineup will remain strictly battery-electric (BEV), with a mid-size electric sedan also currently under discussion for Australia.
When pressed at the event on whether Australia might ever see HongQi’s ultra-exclusive ‘Golden Sunflower’ state limousines – famous for transporting Chinese President Xi Jinping – executives were understandably sheepish. Intriguingly, however, the prospect of a HongQi ute was openly mentioned and teased.
Questioned further on the dual-cab prospect, representatives clarified that formal development on a ute has not yet commenced, but pointed out that parent company FAW Group already possesses the heavy-duty engineering capability and manufacturing expertise required through its longstanding domestic joint-venture partnership with Toyota. Should it get the green light, any future HQ pickup would be strictly full-electric.
Despite targeting lofty sales volumes of between 500 and 1000 vehicles per month once the range hits its stride, the company plans to keep its retail footprint tight rather than establishing a sprawling national dealer network.
“We will be concentrated in the main urban centres so our volume isn’t spread too thinly across the network,” Nguyen explained.
The HongQi E-HS9 is available to order now ahead of the smaller E-HS4’s arrival next month, with first Australian customer deliveries scheduled to commence on January 18, 2027.
