HongQi is not a name many Australians know yet, but in China it carries real weight. The brand has been building cars since 1958 and is best known at home for the stately limousines used on official state occasions.
Now it is coming here, sold under the shortened name HQ. The first model to wear the badge locally is the HongQi E-HS9, a large three-row electric SUV which HQ will officially launch at its own event on 11 November 2026, with customer deliveries planned from 18 January 2027.
What “leading the way in smart luxury” means
HQ’s tagline here is “Leading the way in Smart & Luxury”, and the company is fairly specific about what each half means.
Smart is about convenience. Rather than piling on features for the sake of a spec sheet, the idea is a car that makes everyday driving easier, such as a voice assistant that can tell different people in the cabin apart and respond to whoever is actually speaking.
Luxury is about the experience that technology makes possible: a quiet, comfortable cabin, big screens, serious audio and driver assistance that takes the edge off long trips. HQ openly positions itself against the more rigid approach of century-old Western luxury brands, putting the user first rather than tradition.
To back that up, it is leaning on three areas of technology: battery, cockpit and driving assistance. More on each below.
Who is bringing HQ to Australia
HQ is being imported and distributed by Greentech Smart EV, an Australian company set up in 2023. It is led by managing director and CEO Jim (Baojun) Wu, who has more than 20 years in the car industry, including roles with joint ventures involving PSA, Honda, Toyota and GAC. Wu also co-founded EV maker Leapmotor, served as its president and CEO, and took it to a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Wu sees being a newcomer as an advantage. Without decades of legacy models to protect, HQ can put its latest battery, cabin and driving technology into every car from day one.
Meet the HQ E-HS9
The E-HS9 is HQ’s flagship SUV, and it is a big one. At 5.2 metres long and just over two metres wide, it is a genuine three-row family hauler in the same size bracket as the largest four-wheel drives on Aussie roads.
HQ quotes a 120 kWh battery, 492 hp (roughly 367 kW) and 606 Nm of torque, with a claimed range of 515 km on the WLTP scale.
Styling-wise, there is a signature light strip across the nose, matrix LED headlights and a neat touch on the C-pillar: a display that shows the battery level from outside the car. Inside, you get a panoramic intelligent display, ventilated massage seats, a panoramic sunroof and air suspension. It also has Qualcomm 9150 C-V2X hardware, which allows the car to talk to other vehicles and roadside infrastructure, where networks support it. In Australia, that support is still a work in progress.
HQ has families clearly in mind. The buyer it is picturing has kids aged roughly six to 16, which makes sense for a car with this much space and screen time on offer.
On pricing, Wu says the HongQi E-HS9 will sit around the $160,000 mark, below its German luxury rivals.
HongQi E-HS9 specifications and price
| Body type | Large three-row electric SUV |
| Battery | 120 kWh |
| Maximum power | 492 hp (approx. 367 kW) |
| Peak torque | 606 Nm |
| Claimed range | 570 km (CLTC) / 515 km (WLTP) |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 5209 x 2010 x 1731 mm |
| Driver assistance | L2+ ADAS |
| Connectivity | Qualcomm 9150 C-V2X |
| Comfort highlights | Air suspension, panoramic sunroof, ventilated massage seats, panoramic intelligent display |
| Australian launch | 11 November 2026, HQ launch event |
| First deliveries | From 18 January 2027 |
| Price | $160,000 approx |
Final Australian-specification details are still to be confirmed.
The HongQi technology coming to Australia
Beyond the E-HS9 itself, HQ is keen to talk up the technology HongQi has developed across its wider range. Not all of it will be in the first cars to arrive here, but it gives a good sense of what will filter into HQ models in Australia over time. It falls into three areas.
Battery and charging: HongQi’s Tiangong electric platform underpins its newer EVs, and the headline numbers look like this:
- Up to 850 km of range on the CLTC cycle from its longest-range model, with battery capacities up to 111 kWh
- 10 to 80 per cent fast charging in 20 to 30 minutes on 800V models, with five minutes to 80 per cent the stated goal for the future
- 93 per cent of battery capacity retained at minus 10°C, handy on a winter trip to the snow
- Packs tested for piercing, crushing and burning without fire or explosion, sealed against water and dust, and calibrated for Australia’s heat
Smart cockpit: HongQi’s Lingxi cockpit runs on its own 5nm Hongqi No.1 chip and FAW-OS operating system, with over-the-air updates. The AI voice assistant draws on large language models including Alibaba’s Qianwen and DeepSeek, handles natural back-and-forth conversation and can recognise different voices, so it knows whether the driver or a passenger is asking. HQ says every model sold here is localised for Australian language and usage. On the luxury side, highlights across the range include a 36-channel Dynaudio sound system, an augmented reality head-up display with an image equivalent to a 65-inch screen, a 15.6-inch 2.5K floating touchscreen and zero-gravity seats with heating, ventilation and massage.
Driver assistance: HongQi’s Sinan system does not rely on high-definition maps, instead combining a three-camera vision system with inertial navigation. That matters in Australia, where detailed HD mapping outside the big cities is patchy. HongQi claims it can detect objects up to 300 metres ahead and needs fewer than 0.25 driver takeovers per 100 km, with sixfold redundancy across sensing, positioning, power, communication, steering and braking. Core safety functions include autonomous emergency braking that works at up to 130 km/h, lane keeping assist and smart cruise control, and HQ says the system has been adapted to Australian road rules. It comes in tiers, from highway assist and memory parking up to a top version HongQi describes as ready for Level 3 autonomy.
As always, these systems assist the driver rather than replace them, and HQ is yet to confirm exactly which of these features each Australian model will get. The E-HS9 is currently listed with Level 2+ driver assistance.
The HQ road map for Australia
HQ is rolling out in stages:
- 11 November 2026: E-HS9 launch event hosted by HQ
- 18 January 2027: first customer deliveries
The compact E-HS4 SUV is also on its way, with timing to be confirmed. Beyond that, a mid-size E-HS5 SUV has been reported for around April 2027, and a sedan is expected to follow the SUVs. Greentech also plans to open a dealer in each capital city.
For a brand most Australians are only just hearing about, HQ is arriving with plenty of technology on the spec sheet. Final Australian specifications will tell us how well it stacks up, and we will bring you more once we have had time behind the wheel.
Find out more at hqhongqiaustralia.com.au.
The post HongQi E-HS9: China’s luxury EV brand arrives in Australia appeared first on GadgetGuy.
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