China FAW Group Corp.'s Hongqi premium brand, behind an expanded lineup, is on track to boost annual sales to 100,000 this year.
Hongqi deliveries surged 188 percent to 4,107 in September, Beijing-based website Auto Market Online reported, citing information obtained from the brand’s office.
In the first three quarters, Hongqi deliveries soared 223 percent to 63,640, nearly doubling the brand’s 2018 volume.
FAW, a state-owned company under direct control of the central Chinese government, has made Hongqi’s revival its top priority after Xu Liuping became chairman in 2017. Xu was previously head of another state-owned automaker, Changan Automobile Co.
FAW has rolled out two gasoline models -- a crossover and an SUV as well as a full electric crossover under the Hongqi brand. Hongqi previously only marketed a limousine, a full-size sedan and compact sedan.
Hongqi was created in 1958 as a limousine brand for government agencies. In the late 1980s, the brand started to introduce sedans for private buyers but sales remained limited due to a narrow product lineup.
