Can a Chinese automaker win over Japanese buyers?
China’s state-owned automaker FAW Group marks its expansion into the Japanese market with the opening of the first Hongqi Experience Centre in the country.
Located in the Nanba district of Osaka, the new facility is built over two floors, with the main showroom on the first and meeting rooms and accessories display area on the second.
Awaiting visitors to the showroom would be Hongqi‘s flagship sedan and the most luxurious mid-size premium sedan the People’s Republic has to offer, the H9. Launched in its home market back in August 2020, the H9 is actually built on the bones of the previous generation Audi A6L (C7), although none of the design elements suggest that it is based on the German sedan.
Size-wise, the H9 measures 5,137 mm long, 1,904 mm wide and 1,493 tall, and has a wheelbase of 3,060 mm. Powering it is Audi’s 3.0-litre supercharged V6 engine that generates 272 hp and 380 Nm of torque, the entirety of which is routed to the wheels via a seven-speed dual clutch transmission.
The H9 won’t be the only Hongqi model on sale in Japan as the automaker also reportedly offers three more types of cars including a hybrid electric vehicle. For 2022, Hongqi will bring in five more models including an electric sport SUV, which could well be the E-HS9, unless the automaker has another electric sport SUV that we didn’t know about.
In September 2020, Hongqi took the cover off the H9+ at the Beijing Auto Show, which is essentially the extended version of the H9. Whether or not the model will be offered in Japan is anyone’s guess but there’s always a possibility if there’s enough demand for it.
On top of offering several of its models, FAW Group and Hongqi reportedly aim to further strengthen its presence in Japan by opening a new dealership in Tokyo as well as other cities in the near future.
