New Name at CES: 60-year-old Hongqi Seeks to Expand Global Footprint

There have been comments that the CES has constantly taken us back to the future.

Thanks to advancements over the previous years, artificial intelligence has found new applications in mobility after gaining attraction in traditional homes, company offices, and entertainment. Currently, vehicles, as the main mode of transportation, are evolving in new directions, with various emerging technology being fitted into cars. In addition to autonomous driving, car networking, and new energy vehicles, smart cities and ecologies are now the innovation trends for automobile manufacturers participating in the CES.

The smart cabin dubbed ‘Qijing’

Hongqi is now heralded as a new innovative force in the automotive industry. In the past year, the Chinese car brand has made waves and broken new ground in the automobile world. It debuted at the CES with the ‘Qijing’ smart cabin, showing its technology, concept and vision for future mobility, as well as its understanding of smart cities.

The smart cabin is a futuristic innovation with a board range of inspiring features. It identifies the ‘five senses’ (sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch) as the starting point and evaluation criteria for the creation of cars. Through Hongqi ‘s future-proofed pioneering technology, high-quality products, pleasing and wonderful services, and well-established ecological system, it aims to provide a multi-dimensional travel experience that can be continuously improved upon.

Sitting in the smart cabin, the users are fully exposed to a series of intelligent interactive functions for an innovative and unique travel experience, such as full sensory interaction, dynamic physical recognition and mixed reality. They can also feel changes in the temperature and weather through VR technology, access the vehicle’s technical parameters on the screen, and most importantly appreciate how advanced the automatic driving technology is.

The smart cabin is developed based on the brand’s R.Flag, a plan built on the ‘four features’, which is set to reshape the brand. The ‘four features’ refers to user experience, electrification, intelligent networking, and sharing. R.Flag is also at the heart of the smart cabin that was on display at the CES.

The Hongqi brand has made comprehensive headway in the ‘four features’, with positive results in many aspects.

With a view to enhancing user experience, extensive research and development have been made in areas from virtual reality, active voicing, vehicle odors, gesture recognition, to artificial intelligence. At the same time, user experience centers have been opened in many places across China in an effort to bring the ultimate and innovative experience to its users.

In terms of electrification, Hongqi has worked on an array of R&D projects. It is planning to build three pure electric vehicle platforms, namely energy-efficient vehicle platform, pure electric vehicle platform and high-end pure electric vehicle platform, and develop core power systems include five electric drive systems, three power battery platforms, and four charger platforms.

With respect to intelligent networking, Hongqi has enabled mass production of vehicles with functions such as automatic dispatching (mobile phone remote controlling), automatic parking, automatic following in the event of congestion and adaptive cruise. The brand also signed a cooperation agreement with internet giant Baidu in November last year to jointly release the mass production plan for L4-class self-driving passenger cars that are due to come off the assembly line by the end of 2020.

It has also been promoting shared travel services in cooperation with the governments of Changchun City, Jilin City, Foshan City and Hainan Province. Next year, it will be rolling out such services in many cities across the country to expand its business scope.

The continuous development and innovation in the ‘four features’ has brought about a renewed and prosperous Hongqi brand.

Last January, FAW Group Corporation, the Chinese state-owned automaker released the newest branding strategy for its Hongqi in the Great Hall of the People, the latest move to turn Hongqi into China’s No. 1 automobile maker and one of the world’s leading car brands.

With the new brand strategy as the guide, various creative measures and marketing campaigns have been launched in the past year to improve the company’s brand image, product design and quality, technology, services and innovation plans.

In April, Hongqi participated in the Beijing International Auto Exhibition as an independent entity for the first time, showing its commitment to renew itself.

After the new strategy, the Hongqi H5, China’s first luxury B-class vehicle model, hit the market. The cheapest of the H5 family only sold for around 150,000 yuan (around $22,174). The affordable vehicles have greatly satisfied Chinese consumers’ demand for ‘good life and comfortable travel’ in the new era.

In July, Hongqi established an innovation ecosystem alliance, injecting vitality into the renewed brand and delivering a better travel experience for users.

In August, Hongqi held a ceremony to celebrate its 60th anniversary, alongside the ‘Hongqi People Awards’, the ‘Hongqi Township Launching Ceremony’, ‘Hongqi L5 Delivery Ceremony’, and ‘Global Design Challenge Opening Ceremony’. All these activities have shown the brand’s new style and characteristics.

In November, Hongqi showcased at the Guangzhou Auto Show its first high-end C-class SUV model, the Hongqi HS7, and the first L4-class self-driving passenger car that can be mass produced, the ‘E-Boundary’, demonstrating its strength and technical expertise to industry peers.

In December, Hongqi’s 100th Experience Center was inaugurated. So far, a total of 104 Hongqi Experience Centers have opened, making Hongqi present in all key cities across the country. Continuous efforts have been made to provide the highest-quality products possible and the best consumer services.

In addition, Hongqi has also changed the way it is viewed by consumers, and improved its brand image and product awareness through cooperation with companies from other industries. For example, the Olympic champion Wu Dajing became the first owner of the Hongqi H5; In cooperation with Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning, Hongqi has become the diamond-level partner of the Internet Conference.

Thanks to continuous investment in the brand strategy and the readiness to stretch itself, Hongqi has made branding efforts and market appeal visible to more and more people. Previously, Hongqi was synonymous with official cars, the government, and senior CPC leaders in China. Owing to the aforesaid initiatives carried out in the past year, Hongqi has shaken off its old image. A young, energetic brand image is gaining ground.

For Chinese, Hongqi, a brand with 60 years of glorious history, is not only a luxury car marque, but it is also the incarnation of the Chinese dream and a historical feat.

2018 marked the first year the brand embarked on the path of revitalization. Hongqi has brought to the forefront the Chinese brand’s pioneering spirit and persistent pursuit of excellence. Its debut at the CES also spoke to its determination to innovate and reinvent itself. We are convinced that Hongqi is well-placed to lead the way in pushing Chinese automobile brands up the value chain.

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