Tweedehands Hongqi

Hongqi means Red Flag, and it is the oldest passenger car brand in China. Built by FAW in Changchun from 1958, the CA72 and the vast CA770 limousine carried Mao Zedong and every Chinese leader since, and for decades the badge was reserved for the state and for parades.

That changed in 2018, when FAW relaunched Hongqi as a luxury brand for private buyers and hired Rolls-Royce's former design director, Giles Taylor, to give it a face. The result was the H9 saloon, the E-HS9 electric SUV and a design language of vertical grilles and red-flag bonnet ornaments unlike anything else.

In Europe Hongqi sells the E-HS9 and the EH7 saloon and EHS7 SUV, entering through Norway and the Netherlands before expanding. It is a curiosity today; it is also the state car of the world's largest car market, with a factory behind it that builds Audis and Toyotas under licence.