New luxury Hongqi sedan to hit market in Oct

CHANGCHUN - China's flagship sedan brand Hongqi, or Red Flag, is set to release its latest luxurious model, H7, to the market in October, according to the carmaker's chairman.

"The Hongqi H7 will hit the market soon. It is still in the testing period," said Xu Jianyi, chairman of the First Automobile Works (FAW) Group Corporation -- one of China's leading carmakers.

The new model is Hongqi's first hybrid sedan and its core technologies have been developed independently by the company. The outer design of the H7 is in line with Hongqi's tradition of being elegant, grandiose and superior, FAW officials said.

The Hongqi sedan, since its first appearance in 1958, has been regarded as China's prime protocol car. It was frequently used by top Chinese leaders like Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping in big state celebrations and receptions for important foreign guests including then US President Richard Nixon in his ice-breaking visit to China in 1972.

Though China's official cars today are dominated by German Audis, many analysts expect Chinese-brand sedans to take a larger market share in the future.

FAW earlier said it would invest 10.5 billion yuan ($1.67 billion) into the Hongqi brand in the five-year period to 2015.