China's Oldest Car Brand Is Heading to Australia — Here's What WA Buyers Need to Know

China's oldest car brand is coming to Australia, and it's not messing around with budget hatchbacks. Hongqi — pronounced "hong-chee" and translating literally to "red flag" — is reportedly planning to enter the Australian market in the second half of 2026, bringing a large luxury electric SUV that sits squarely in Volvo and Cadillac territory.

For WA buyers already navigating a rapidly expanding Chinese brand landscape — BYD, MG, LDV, Chery, GWM — this is one more name to add to the list. But Hongqi is pitching itself differently: this isn't an affordable EV play. It's going after the premium end of the market.

What's Actually Coming

The model most likely to land in Australia first is the E-HS9, a large three-row electric SUV that makes a Volvo EX90 look compact. At 5,209mm long on a 3,110mm wheelbase, it's a genuinely big vehicle — relevant if you're doing school runs in the northern suburbs or covering serious distance between Perth and regional WA.

In right-hand drive markets, the E-HS9 comes with a 120kWh battery pack offering 515km of WLTP range. That's a reasonable real-world number for Perth metro driving, though buyers eyeing a run to Kalgoorlie or Broome will still want to plan their charging stops carefully. The dual-motor all-wheel drive setup produces 362kW combined, with a claimed 0–100km/h time of 5.5 seconds.

Standard kit is extensive: air suspension, panoramic sunroof, matrix LED headlights, heated and ventilated front seats with massage, a 8.8-inch digital cluster and dual 15.6-inch touchscreens. You can have six or seven seats. Hongqi describes the interior as "Eastern luxury rendered with European restraint" — think subtle jade-tone ambient lighting and cloud-pattern embossed headrests rather than anything garish.

Where It Sits on Price — and Who It's Up Against

No Australian pricing has been confirmed. As a benchmark, the seven-seat Volvo EX90 starts from $106,990 plus on-roads, while the six-seat Cadillac Vistiq starts from $116,000 before on-road costs. Hongqi will need to land somewhere in that zone to be taken seriously, or undercut both significantly to generate early interest.

With WA's higher registration costs and the ongoing question of EV charging infrastructure outside the metro area, price positioning will matter enormously here. A luxury SUV that punches below its weight on after-sales support or parts availability won't get far in a market where buyers are still cautious about newer Chinese brands.

The Brand Behind the Badge

Founded in 1958 under state-owned First Auto Works (FAW), Hongqi spent decades building limousines for Communist Party officials before pivoting to private buyers in the 2010s. Its design director is Giles Taylor, formerly of Rolls-Royce, which explains the measured, European-influenced aesthetic.

A company called Greentech Smart EV Pty Ltd — registered in Australia since August 2023 — has recently updated its business names to include "HongQi Australia" and "HQ ANZ", which suggests the groundwork is already being laid.

Hongqi won't be the first Chinese luxury brand to arrive here — Zeekr launched in 2024 — but it would be one of the most historically significant. Whether WA buyers warm to it will depend heavily on pricing, dealer network, and how well it handles the realities of Australian driving. We'll be watching closely.