The first car from Leapmotor and FAW was seen in China as the Hongqi SUV. It will enter the market in H2 2026 with a range-extended powertrain, semi-hidden door handles, and a closed front end.
It was first revealed that FAW’s high-end Chinese brand, Hongqi, will build cars using modular architecture from Leapmotor in April 2025. The Stellantis-backed startup will provide the LEAP 3.5 modular architecture to China’s oldest passenger car brand. In late December, FAW acquired 5% equity in Leapmotor.
On February 27, the first car jointly developed by Leapmotor and FAW was spotted in China during cold-weather tests by Autohome. It is a mid-size crossover with sleek styling and a closed front end. We can confirm it is a Hongqi-branded car by identifying the badges on the wheels and the internal combustion engine cover. The new model boasts semi-hidden door handles, sculpted rear fenders, and slanted D-pillars. Overall, it stands close to the Hongqi EHS7 (Tiangong 08) crossover.
There is no information about the dimensions of the new Hongqi car. Its length likely reaches 4,750 mm. The car features five-spoke rims, a roof spoiler, and a rear windshield wiper. It also has an ICE under the hood. It wasn’t officially confirmed if this vehicle is a PHEV or an EREV. However, both Leapmotor and Hongqi currently focus on range-extended tech. This is why we consider this newcomer to be EREV.
The interior of the new Hongqi model is covered with camouflage. However, we can highlight that this vehicle has a large landscape-oriented floating screen and a gear shifter mounted behind a D-shaped steering wheel. There is also a small LCD instrument panel.
Other information about this vehicle has yet to be revealed in China. According to previous reports, the new model will feature the 800V high-voltage system, CTC 2.0 technology, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8650 chip, and the 27-in-1 integrated thermal management system. Despite using the Leapmotor platform, the car will adopt Hongqi’s existing design style.
