Hongqi is coming to the UK with the EH7 saloon and EHS7 SUV

Remember China's take on a Rolls-Royce Phantom - the wonderfully expensive Hongqi L5? You do? Great. We've got good news and we've got bad news. The good news is that we're about to be seeing a whole lot more of Hongqi, because it’s planning a UK launch with the two cars that you see above. The bad news is that it probably won't ever bring the £500,000+ L5 to our shores. Boo.

Still, we’re told that Hongqi – which also builds President Xi’s state limo in China – has already agreed partnerships with dealers in Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden as it looks to expand its offering in Europe. It’ll do that with the EH7 saloon and the EHS7 SUV, and product manager Zhao Chen confirmed to Top Gear that the company is also planning on launching right-hand drive versions in “two to three years”.

The EH7 and EHS7 share a platform and are available with either an 85 or 110kWh battery. Both are offered with a twin-motor, all-wheel drive powertrain that produces 610bhp and allows for a 0-62mph time of 3.5 seconds in the saloon and 3.9 seconds in the SUV. Jeepers. We’re told that there are Brembo brakes too, and the WLTP range is an impressive 360 miles for the saloon and 329 miles for the SUV. Rumour has it there could be a single motor powertrain with up to 429 miles of range too.

Former Rolls-Royce and Jaguar designer Giles Taylor is now Hongqi’s chief creative officer, and the EH7 saloon is certainly fairly pleasing on the eye. That car went on sale in China in March this year and the EHS7 will soon follow. When they do eventually arrive in the UK, Hongqi is targeting a starting price of between £30,000 and £40,000. Not bad for a luxury carmaker.

It’s worth noting that Hongqi is part of the FAW Group in China (the second largest of the big four), and the brand itself was formed in 1958 when FAW built the nation's first domestically produced passenger car. The name Hongqi translates to ‘red flag’ and the badge has more than a hint of Rover about it. We’re told that European cars will have “enhancements designed for European consumers” and Hongqi is promising self-driving tech, voice control, five-star Euro NCAP safety ratings, lots of touchscreen action and the obligatory over-the-air updates for both the EH7 and EHS7.