China's car brand Hongqi kick-starts new year with strong sales

File photo taken on Sept. 23, 2020 shows that a worker checks a vehicle at the general assembly line of Hongqi, the leading sedan brand of First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Co. Ltd., in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Nan)

CHANGCHUN, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Sales of Hongqi, a car brand under China's leading automaker FAW Group Co., Ltd., have soared 40 percent year on year in the first two months of 2022 to 63,800 units, the company said.

Hongqi, meaning "red flag," is China's iconic car brand. The brand was established in 1958 and has been used as the vehicle for parades at national celebrations.

In recent years, Hongqi has sped up the expansion of its product portfolio. Its sedans, SUVs as well as customized cars have been exported to Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Middle East and Europe.

Meanwhile, Hongqi has been exploring the market for new energy vehicles. A factory focusing on electric cars with an investment of 8 billion yuan (about 1.3 billion U.S. dollars) has started production, and its first batch of cars has hit the market.

Last year, sales of Hongqi exceed 300,000 units, an increase of 50.1 percent year on year.