By Gabby Chen

Hongqi (红旗), the well-respected car brand under China's leading automaker FAW Group (一汽集团), will stop investing in fuel cars and redirect all efforts to EVs. It will also accelerate expansion in high-end overseas markets, the company announced on January 9.

Hongqi, meaning "red flag" in the Chinese language, has grown to be China's iconic marque since its establishment in 1958 through years of limo services for national ceremonial events. Its parent company FAW Group is one of China's oldest and largest automotive manufacturers. It was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Changchun of northeastern China's Jilin Province.

Xu Liuping, chairman of FAW Group, told a press conference that Hongqi has stopped investing in research and development and capacity for traditional fuel cars, except for special purpose vehicles, since the second half of last year, and its new capacity and technological innovation input will be all rerouted to new energy vehicles (NEVs), reported Yicai Global.

FAW Group said that Hongqi would unveil three new NEVs soon, with another 15 models to be released in the next three years. Among other new products will be a sport utility vehicle with an 800-volt fast-charge battery to debut by the year's end and a battery electric sedan with autonomous driving capabilities next year.

Meanwhile, the company will explore in high-end overseas markets, aiming to build over 700 Hongqi experience spaces, 1,000 service networks, and 600,000 energy-replenishing terminals abroad to achieve the overseas sales target of more than 10% of its total sales by 2025 and 25% by 2030.

Hongqi's E-HS9 entered the Norwegian, Dutch, and Swedish markets in September 2021, with total sales exceeding 2,400 units since then, said Yicai Global.

Hongqi achieved sales of 310,000 units in 2022, up 3% year-on-year. It aims to achieve sales of more than 1 million units by 2025, including over 500,000 units of NEVs. By 2030, sales are expected to exceed 1.5 million units, with NEVs being the majority, said the Xinhua report.