Latest news with #Hongqi
South China Morning Post
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- South China Morning Post
Chinese carmakers race to build early advantage in flying car ventures after EV rivalry
Some of China's biggest carmakers, from the iconic Hongqi or Red Flag to Geely Auto and Tesla rival Xpeng, are competing on a new front – flying cars – to build a first-mover advantage as sales of electric vehicles begin to saturate. Front-runners like AeroHT, an affiliate of Xpeng , are edging closer to commercialising their drone businesses amid Beijing's support for the so-called low-altitude mobility economy, spearheading innovations in the global air-travel industry. AeroHT last week filed an application to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) for a licence to build its first flying car, according to a statement. Ehang has obtained a licence to offer low-altitude air travel services to passengers. Hongqi, a unit of the mainland's oldest carmaker FAW Group, Geely Auto and other players like GAC Group and Chery Automobile are dedicating a lot of resources to the research and development of flying cars or drones, offering urban air mobility to overcome traffic gridlock in urban cities. 'The flying cars will take some time before they generate profits, given the high production costs and small demand at present,' said Yin Ran, an angel investor in Shanghai. 'The leading carmakers are investing [in them] for the future because they design and manufacture fancy transport tools to display their technology advancements.' 08:18 Flying taxis, airships and drones: the rise of China's low-altitude economy Flying taxis, airships and drones: the rise of China's low-altitude economy The low-altitude economy refers to businesses operating aerial vehicles below 1,000 metres. As part of the aviation industry's focus on aerial connectivity in and around cities, it has gained momentum since 2021 when Beijing introduced policies and regulations to support the sector.
Bloomberg
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
Chinese Elite's Favored Car Brand Is Getting a Modern Makeover
One of China's oldest car brands is remaking itself for the modern era. Hongqi, the marque that's ferried Chinese leaders for decades, is now setting its sights on carving out a greater share of the country's booming electric car market. It's even teased a foray into aerial mobility as part of its 'all in' new-energy vehicle push that's seen it stop all new investment in gasoline-engine technology.
CNBC
26-04-2025
- Automotive
- CNBC
Chinese startup Leapmotor to supply EV platform to state-owned luxury carmaker's Hongqi brand
Leapmotor has struck a deal with Chinese state-owned automaker FAW to deliver an electric vehicle platform that will be used to drive overseas sales for Hongqi, an emerging national champion, executives from both companies said. The deal brings together an unlikely pairing. Leapmotor, a profitable upstart automaker in China's crowded EV market, will supply the underpinnings for a new EV model to the country's oldest auto brand, which got its start supplying sedans for Communist Party leaders and emerged as a fast-growing premium brand in recent years. The agreement represents a win for Leapmotor, which has partnered with Stellantis and created waves with its recent rollout of an all-electric B10 SUV equipped with smart-driving features and lidar sensing technology for less than $18,000. "We have finalized the partnership to jointly develop a model for overseas market," Leapmotor CEO Zhu Jiangming told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of this week's Shanghai auto show. Mass production of the new model under the Hongqi brand - translated as Red Flag in English - will start from the second half of 2026, Zhu said. Hongqi did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chinese automakers and suppliers have been pushing such technology licensing deals for EV platforms or "skateboards" to reduce the costs and speed development for companies looking to slash the threshold to profitability on a new EV model. Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna visited Leapmotor in February. Zhu posted a selfie with Vigna on his social media account on April 14 as the two met again. "Hope we can have more communication and cooperation!" Zhu posted then. Asked during the interview if Leapmotor was talking with Ferrari about EV-architecture partnerships, Zhu said: "Yes, we have been talking about other projects with other brands," without naming them. Leapmotor clarified in a statement to Reuters on Friday that there were no ongoing talks with Ferrari. "Up to now, Leapmotor and Ferrari have not started any negotiation or discussion over cooperation," the automaker said. Ferrari declined to comment. FAW and Leapmotor signed a memorandum of understanding in March but the details of the deal to supply an EV architecture to Hongqi had also not previously been reported. The new Hongqi model will share the same platform as Leapmotor's B10 and will be manufactured in Leapmotor's Hangzhou plant in eastern China, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter who was not authorised to discuss the deal. The new car will be an SUV like the B10 with both pure electric and range-extended versions that could be sold in overseas markets including Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East, the person said. Leapmotor declined to comment. Giles Taylor, who oversees Hongqi's design, said the new car would take its underpinnings from Leapmotor but look and feel like the other models in the Hongqi lineup, with a design flair he has described as rooted in Chinese aesthetics. "The challenge with taking a platform from Leapmotor is making it into a cool, relevant, trendy, but good-looking Hongqi. It has to be Hongqi," Taylor, who was formerly chief designer for Rolls-Royce, told Reuters. "I've got no problem taking the powertrain, but we apply a magic on top." Last month, Leapmotor began pre-sales of the B10 in China with a starting price of 109,800 yuan ($15,115). A variant with lidar and urban navigation is priced from 129,800 yuan, or $17,870. The EV maker said on Wednesday it had delivered 8,000 of the new B10 vehicles within 13 days of launch. The company sold just over 300,000 cars last year, less than a tenth of the volume of industry leader BYD though it was profitable in the fourth quarter, a year ahead of its own earlier forecast. In 2023, Stellantis bought a 21% stake in Leapmotor for $1.6 billion. The two automakers also formed a joint venture, Leapmotor International, in which Stellantis holds a 51% stake.
TimesLIVE
24-04-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Leapmotor to supply EV platform to Hongqi, also in talks with Ferrari
Leapmotor has struck a deal with Chinese state-owned carmaker FAW to deliver an electric vehicle platform that will be used to drive overseas sales for Hongqi, an emerging national champion, executives from both companies said. The deal brings together an unlikely pairing. Leapmotor, a profitable upstart carmaker in China's crowded EV market, will supply the underpinnings for a new EV model to the country's oldest car brand, which got its start supplying sedans for Communist Party leaders and emerged as a fast-growing premium brand in recent years. The agreement represents a win for Leapmotor, which has partnered Stellantis and created waves with its recent rollout of an all-electric B10 SUV equipped with smart-driving features and lidar sensing technology for less than $18,000 (R336,129). 'We have finalised the partnership to jointly develop a model for overseas markets,' Leapmotor CEO Zhu Jiangming told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of this week's Shanghai auto show. Mass production of the new model under the Hongqi brand — translated as Red Flag in English — will start from the second half of 2026, Zhu said. Hongqi did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Leapmotor is also in talks with Italian luxury sports car maker Ferrari over a similar partnership to develop a new model based on the Chinese company's EV architecture, Zhu said. Ferrari did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chinese carmakers and suppliers have been pushing such technology licensing deals for EV platforms or 'skateboards' to reduce the costs and speed up development for companies looking to slash the threshold to profitability on a new EV model. Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna visited Leapmotor in February but ongoing talks between the two carmakers had not previously been reported. FAW and Leapmotor signed a memorandum of understanding in March but the details of the deal to supply an EV architecture to Hongqi had also not previously been reported. The new Hongqi model will share the same platform as Leapmotor's B10 and will be manufactured in Leapmotor's Hangzhou plant in eastern China, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The new car will be an SUV like the B10 with both pure electric and range-extended versions that could be sold in overseas markets including Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East, the person said. Leapmotor declined to comment. Giles Taylor, who oversees Hongqi's design, said the new car would take its underpinnings from Leapmotor but look and feel like the other models in the Hongqi line-up, with a design flair he has described as rooted in Chinese aesthetics. 'The challenge with taking a platform from Leapmotor is making it into a cool, relevant, trendy, but good-looking Hongqi. It has to be Hongqi,' Taylor, who was formerly chief designer for Rolls-Royce, told Reuters. 'I've got no problem taking the power train, but we apply magic on top.' Last month, Leapmotor began presales of the B10 in China with a starting price of 109,800 yuan (R282,255). A variant with lidar and urban navigation is priced from 129,800 yuan (R332,756), or $17,870 (R333,828). The EV maker said on Wednesday it had delivered 8,000 of the new B10 vehicles within 13 days of launch. The company sold just over 300,000 cars last year, less than a tenth of the volume of industry leader BYD, though it was profitable in the fourth quarter, a year ahead of its own earlier forecast. In 2023, Stellantis bought a 21% stake in Leapmotor for $1.6bn (R29,876,386,400). The two carmakers also formed a joint venture, Leapmotor International, in which Stellantis holds a 51% stake.
Time of India
24-04-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
China's Leapmotor to supply EV platform to Hongqi, also in talks with Ferrari
Leapmotor has struck a deal with Chinese state-owned automaker FAW to deliver an electric vehicle platform that will be used to drive overseas sales for Hongqi, an emerging national champion, executives from both companies said. The deal brings together an unlikely pairing. Leapmotor, a profitable upstart automaker in China's crowded EV market, will supply the underpinnings for a new EV model to the country's oldest auto brand, which got its start supplying sedans for Communist Party leaders and emerged as a fast-growing premium brand in recent years. The agreement represents a win for Leapmotor, which has partnered with Stellantis and created waves with its recent rollout of an all-electric B10 SUV equipped with smart-driving features and lidar sensing technology for less than $18,000. "We have finalised the partnership to jointly develop a model for overseas market," Leapmotor CEO Zhu Jiangming told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of this week's Shanghai auto show. Mass production of the new model under the Hongqi brand - translated as Red Flag in English - will start from the second half of 2026, Zhu said. Hongqi did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Leapmotor is also in talks with Italian luxury sports-car maker Ferrari over a similar partnership to develop a new model based on the Chinese company's EV architecture, Zhu said. Ferrari did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chinese automakers and suppliers have been pushing such technology licensing deals for EV platforms or "skateboards" to reduce the costs and speed up development for companies looking to slash the threshold to profitability on a new EV model. Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna visited Leapmotor in February, but ongoing talks between the two automakers had not previously been reported. FAW and Leapmotor signed a memorandum of understanding in March but the details of the deal to supply an EV architecture to Hongqi had also not previously been reported. The new Hongqi model will share the same platform as Leapmotor's B10 and will be manufactured in Leapmotor's Hangzhou plant in eastern China, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter who was not authorised to discuss the deal. The new car will be an SUV like the B10 with both pure electric and range-extended versions that could be sold in overseas markets including Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East, the person said. Leapmotor declined to comment. Giles Taylor, who oversees Hongqi's design, said the new car would take its underpinnings from Leapmotor but look and feel like the other models in the Hongqi lineup, with a design flair he has described as rooted in Chinese aesthetics. "The challenge with taking a platform from Leapmotor is making it into a cool, relevant, trendy, but good-looking Hongqi. It has to be Hongqi," Taylor, who was formerly chief designer for Rolls-Royce, told Reuters. "I've got no problem taking the powertrain, but we apply a magic on top." Last month, Leapmotor began pre-sales of the B10 in China with a starting price of 109,800 yuan ($15,115). A variant with lidar and urban navigation is priced from 129,800 yuan, or $17,870. The EV maker said on Wednesday it had delivered 8,000 of the new B10 vehicles within 13 days of launch. The company sold just over 300,000 cars last year, less than a tenth of the volume of industry leader BYD, though it was profitable in the fourth quarter, a year ahead of its own earlier forecast. In 2023, Stellantis bought a 21% stake in Leapmotor for $1.6 billion. The two automakers also formed a joint venture, Leapmotor International, in which Stellantis holds a 51% stake.
