I remember in 2022 explaining to a Russian dealer in Yekaterinburg that Hongqi was a real brand and not a typo. He had not heard of it. Three years later that same dealer has sold 40+ HS5 units this year and the H9 sedan is his second-best margin product after the BYD Tang DM-i. Hongqi's Russian breakthrough is interesting because it happened despite the brand having almost no marketing budget allocated to the market.
For non-Chinese readers — who is Hongqi
Hongqi (literally "red flag") is FAW Group's premium domestic Chinese brand. It is also China's oldest car marque, originally the state-vehicle producer for the People's Republic. The current Hongqi was relaunched as a serious premium effort around 2018 after decades as a ceremonial brand. The cars are positioned to compete domestically with Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
The product line currently exporting:
- HS5 — mid-size SUV, 2.0L turbo petrol or PHEV, roughly Audi Q5-sized.
- HS7 — larger SUV, BMW X5 segment.
- H9 — full-size sedan, S-Class adjacent (visually controversial, opinions vary).
- E-HS9 — pure electric SUV, Bentayga adjacent in size.
- HS3 — newer compact SUV, 2024 model.
Why Russia specifically
Three reasons converged for Hongqi in the Russian market between 2022 and 2025:
1. The premium import gap. When Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Lexus pulled official Russian operations in 2022, the premium-vehicle market lost its main brands. Parallel imports of German and Japanese premium came back via Kazakhstan and UAE but at substantial mark-ups. Hongqi could land in Russia at meaningfully lower prices than parallel-imported European premium, and offer a "premium feel" experience to Russian buyers who still wanted that segment.
2. Right product fit. The Hongqi HS5 is a 5+2 seater Russian-spec winter package SUV that the Russian buyer actually wants. Heated everything, real ground clearance, 4WD options, decent reliability data emerging from Chinese fleet use. The interior materials read as premium without being European-cold; there is a warmer, more ornate quality to Hongqi interiors that resonates with the Russian premium aesthetic.
3. The diplomatic optics work. A Chinese flagship marque driving in Vladivostok and Moscow has a soft signalling value for the China-Russia commercial relationship. State-adjacent buyers (mid-level government, state-enterprise managers) increasingly buy Hongqi as a deliberate signal. This is a real demand driver, not just marketing.
The numbers we see
Our Hongqi exports to Russia were ~14 units in 2023, ~85 in 2024, ~210 in 2025, and Q1 2026 alone has already moved 78 units. The growth curve is exponential and the order pipeline for Q2 looks similar. The HS5 PHEV is the volume model. The H9 sells in smaller numbers but with the best per-unit margin for our dealer partners — it is bought by buyers who do not negotiate.
A note on the actual product
I have driven the HS5 PHEV. It is not as polished as an equivalent Mercedes GLC or Porsche Macan — the throttle is slightly hunting at low speeds, the lane-keep system intervenes more aggressively than European calibrations, and the infotainment menu structure is less intuitive than what BMW or Audi do. But the gap is much smaller than the price differential. For the Russian buyer paying USD 38,000 landed for a HS5 PHEV instead of USD 65,000+ for a parallel-imported Macan, the choice is reasonable.
The H9 sedan I have not driven, but our Russian buyers' feedback is consistent: it is a real S-Class alternative for the China-loyalist buyer. It is not for everyone — the styling is divisive. But there is a buyer segment, and it converts.
Beyond Russia
Hongqi has had less traction in other markets we ship to. In the Gulf, buyers want Mercedes and BMW or now Chinese EVs (BYD, NIO) — Hongqi sits in an uncomfortable middle. In Africa the brand recognition is essentially zero. Russia remains the breakthrough market and looks likely to stay that way through 2026 at least.
If you stock for the Russian market and want to add Hongqi to your mix, we have current HS5 and H9 stock with PVoC pre-clearance for Vladivostok routing. Browse our Hongqi inventory or talk to the partnership team for volume terms.