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UPDATE: Red Flag sold 12,500 vehicles in November, up 178 percent year-on-year, bringing total sales in the first 11 months of this year to 88,020 vehicles, up 211 percent. FAW Group Chairman and Party Secretary Xu Liuping, the architect behind the renaissance of the oldest car brand in China, said at an industry forum that the brand plans to sell 200,000 vehicles in 2020 and 400,000 vehicles in 2022.

Red Flag sales exceeded 90,000 units in 2019 as of 6pm, December 3

FRANKFURT – FAW Group's iconic brand Hongqi, which was in the spotlight at the National Day military parade on October 1 in Beijing celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, literally shined at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show.

Claiming to be the second appearance of the brand at a major global auto show since its debut at the Auto Mobil International (AMI) in Leipzig in 1960, Hongqi unveiled its first independentlydesigned S9 hypercar and an all-electric SUV concept E115 on a glossy, reflective stage at its booth on September 10 at the IAA 2019.

It marked its first appearance ever at the biennial Frankfurt Motor Show but the brand has no plans to enter the European market any time soon. Instead the appearance was more of an effort to showcase the brand's values and expose it to the international audience amidst the brand's renaissance at home.

Both models represent Hongqi's newest technology and design directions. Carrying the new V8T hybrid powertrain system that gives it more than 1,400 horsepower and zero to 100 km/h acceleration time of just 1.9 seconds, the S9 is the first product of the brand's S series.

With a range of 600 km, zero to 100 km/h acceleration time of less than 4 seconds and Level 4 autonomous driving capable, the E115 is a smart SUV that intelligently selects driving modes and autonomous driving levels based on traffic conditions, driver's preferences and travel plans.

Both models will be put into production, according to Xu Liuping, chairman and Party secretary of FAW Group: the S9 will be produced and delivered to customers by 2021, while the E115 will hit the market in 2020.

“The Hongqi has set out on a new journey with a brand-new strategy and vision to create a 'good life and good mobility' for customers in China and elsewhere,” said Xu at the brand's press conference on September 10.

The brand has seen resurgence in sales ever since it released its new brands strategy in January 2018 that aimed to craft a “new noble brand” targeting deeper exploration of the highvalue market.

It recently rolled out a series of hefty measures to further improve its brand value, including streamlining its global R&D resources, establishing a world-class quality standards system and absorbing more international concept in product design.

The 61-year-old brand took these moves against a backdrop of increasingly heated competition at home and abroad, which gives rise to consumption upgrade and creates in turn opportunities for rejuvenating itself as a “made in China” classic.

Currently, it operates the so-called “one headquarters and four research institutes” R&D operating structure around the world with Changchun, Jilin Province as its global R&D headquarters and prospective technology research branch, new energy research institute, prospective designing research branch and artificial R&D branch located respectively in Beijing, Shanghai, Munich and Silicon Valley.

In terms of customer positioning, Hongqi targets the emerging high-end consumers who can afford vehicles with prices ranging from ¥200,000 to ¥6 million.

Apart from these, providing customized products for high-end customers is also an important measure to drive brand premium. For instance, the customized limited edition of the L5 limousine provides six internal decoration styles and an official website in seven languages tailored for customization of the model opened last year providing related online customization services.

Hongqi has seen a surprising surge in sales so far this year amid an overall market slowdown. Monthly sales topped 10,000 units for the first time in August in the brand's 61 years of existence, three times what it sold the same month in 2018. January to August 2019 sales as a result surged 231 percent to 52,000 units.

Dedicated to becoming the No. 1 luxury auto brand in China and one of the renowned brands across the world, Hongqi is targeting to sell 100,000 vehicles by 2020, 300,000 vehicles by 2025 and 500,000 vehicles by 2035, according to its brand strategy unveiled early last year.

Also, targeting at new energy vehicle and intelligent connected vehicle markets, the brand will step up R&D efforts to launch 45 models and make breakthroughs in 18 new technologies by 2030 to further improve its product portfolio, which includes the environmentally-friendly intelligent package R.Flag.

To expand market reach at home and abroad, it has cooperated with institutions owning rich IP resources such as The Palace Museum and China Central Television, made its debut at CES 2019, and hosted international auto festivals since the start of this year. The brand has also taken advantage of social media platforms and key influencers to increase interactions with users in digital technology, literature, arts, films and tourism circles, thus gaining greater recognition.

In particular, by launching stylish hats, backpacks, and apparel in partnership with Chinese sports brand Li Ning, the once only for high-ranking government officials auto marque is making closer connections with young people.

Established in 1958, Hongqi has also been used as the official vehicle for parades at national celebrations. A special, custom-made Red Flag T196 was used during the National Day military parade on Beijing's famed Chang'an Avenue on October 1.

This article appeared in the October 2019 (Vol.14, No.10) issue of China Automotive Review (CAR), our monthly publication in English exclusively focused on the Chinese auto industry. If you would like to read this information-packed monthly report on the Chinese automotive market (in PDF format on a paid basis), please send your subscription to us at: sub@cbuauto.com.cn