FAW's Hongqi enters Italian market with HS3 and HS5 at Turin Auto Show
Hongqi, the premium brand of China's FAW Group, announced its entry into the Italian market with the HS3 and HS5 SUVs at the Turin Auto Show, backed by local media, finance and mobility partners.
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What Happened
Hongqi, the premium brand of China's FAW Group, officially announced its entry into the Italian market at the 2026 Turin Auto Show, held in downtown Turin from September 11 to 13. The brand made the announcement together with its Italian distribution partner EMC Auto (Eurasia Motor Company), presenting two premium SUVs, the HS3 and HS5. Hongqi calls the pair its vanguard lineup for Italy, saying both offer a rich array of technology and comfort features and reflect the brand's premium positioning for the European market. The company says choosing the Turin show for the launch marks another milestone in its global journey in a core European market and a step from a trade-oriented model toward a marketing-oriented model.
Hongqi makes its European market debut in Norway.
At the Turin Auto Show, Hongqi and EMC Auto announce the brand's entry into the Italian market with the HS3 and HS5.
- A content partnership with Italy's leading daily La Stampa and other media outlets, covering reporting and test-drive experiences centered on the HS3, which Hongqi calls its core sales model, through in-depth product analysis, on-site Turin Auto Show coverage and user-perspective reviews.
- A partnership with Italian financial mobility services provider AUTOBANK and its mobility platform DRIVALIA to build a one-stop vehicle-use service system covering purchase financing, leasing, subscription and sharing.
- Together these deals form what Hongqi describes as a 'product + communication + marketing services' system that it says is rapidly advancing its establishment in the Italian market.
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More than 40 automotive brands and design institutions took part, including dozens of models making their Italian market debut.
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The show is free to the public and spreads across Piazza Castello, Piazzetta Reale, the gardens of the Royal Museums of Turin and the area around the Teatro Regio.
During the show, the HS3 ran on the official Turin Auto Show test-drive route along Viale 1° Maggio, Viale dei Partigiani and Corso San Maurizio, with brand representatives on hand as visitors experienced the vehicle. Test-drive reservations at the Hongqi stand remained in high demand. After trying the HS3's driving and riding quality, technology features and luxurious materials, many Italian visitors gave positive feedback on what they described as an 'unfamiliar yet substantial' Chinese brand. The Hongqi stand became one of the most popular experience areas in the test-drive program.
Hongqi has steadily expanded its European footprint since its 2021 market debut in Norway, establishing a presence in Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, and setting up an R&D center in Munich to deepen localization of its products and technologies. With Italy now onboard, the company says its European market footprint is further rounded out and strengthened. Hongqi says it will continue to uphold its philosophy of 'building good cars for global users' and work with local partners on products and services more closely aligned with Italian consumers' needs. It describes Italy as a core Mediterranean market for its sustained, in-depth development.
Previously from FAW Group
Hongqi has also been developing new technology for its lineup alongside its market expansion. In late August 2026, the brand integrated a flexible perovskite photovoltaic sunroof prototype onto its Hongqi EHS7 electric SUV, a setup it said can generate up to 400 kilowatt-hours of electrical energy annually.
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of FAW Group's official releases.
Why this matters
The launch gives Italian buyers two more premium SUV choices and puts a Chinese luxury brand on one of Europe's main automotive stages. It also matters for Hongqi's European push, because the brand is adding local partners for media coverage, financing, leasing, subscription and car-sharing rather than relying on imports alone. Italian consumers, the new local partners and rival premium SUV sellers are the groups most directly affected.
Terms in This Story
- Hongqi
- The premium car brand of China's FAW Group, which is expanding into European markets.
- Salone Auto Torino (Turin Auto Show)
- An annual public auto exhibition in central Turin where car brands and design institutions display new models, including many Italian market debuts.
- distribution partner
- A local company that represents and sells a foreign brand's vehicles in its own market; here EMC Auto (Eurasia Motor Company) for Italy.
- mobility platform
- A service that gives customers access to vehicles through options such as subscriptions, sharing or rentals instead of outright purchase.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.