Germany has long been considered the epicenter of luxury cars, with iconic brands such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche. Even the UK’s most prestigious marques are now owned by German automotive groups, including Rolls-Royce and Bentley. So, it’s perhaps no surprise that China’s most luxurious domestic brand, Hongqi, is making a play for market share in Germany.
Hongqi, often dubbed the “Chinese Rolls-Royce” thanks to its opulent limousines and increasingly impressive design language, is owned by FAW, China’s second largest state-owned automaker. In 2018, FAW hired Giles Taylor, the former design boss at Rolls-Royce. Taylor’s influence is evident on the E-HS9 electric SUV, with its exterior design bearing more than a passing resemblance to his previous work, the Cullinan super-SUV.
Despite the Cullinan-esque design cues, the E-HS9 is a handsome SUV in its own right, with a three-row, seven-seat layout. There are two battery packs on offer. The first is a 99kWh unit that provides a WLTP-rated range of up to 465km. The second, 120kWh battery is exclusive to Europe, and extends the SUV’s range to 515km on a single charge.
Thanks to its rapid 140kW charging capability, Hongqi says the E-HS9 can add 100km of range in as little as 10 minutes on a fast charger. Measuring 5209mm long overall, it’s marginally longer than the BMW X7.
Like the Bavarian brand’s large luxury SUV, the Hongqi has three rows of seats for up to seven occupants. However, only the model with the smaller battery pack can be had as a seven-seater. This version focuses more on luxury, with leather-appointed seats, but both variants benefit from features such as adaptive cruise control and LED matrix headlights.
While Hongqi has bold ambitions to rival Germany’s established luxury brands, the Chinese carmaker could face an uphill battle. Despite its impressive appearance, Western motoring journalists have been critical of the Chinese SUV’s less-than-stellar chassis tuning.
In Germany, the E-HS9 is priced from €80,000 (A$125,000) for the base model, while the Exclusive Long Range variant starts at €102,995 ($160,000). For reference, the BMW X7 with an internal-combustion engine starts from €103,000 ($161,000) in Germany.
Trang Nguyễn (Forum.autodaily.vn)
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