OREANDA-NEWS  At the former Mercedes plant in the Esipovo industrial park near Moscow, they began to assemble Chinese cars Hongqi (“Hongqi”). Premium brand crossovers were the first to be launched into production, Izvestia reports.

According to Maxim Shishko, CEO of Avtosmart (a subsidiary of the Avtodom dealer who bought the plant near Solnechnogorsk from Mercedes), Hongqi should become a full-fledged replacement for brands such as Mercedes, BMW and Audi in Russia.

In 2022, the HS5 crossover has already been certified for the Russian market. It is equipped with a two-liter gasoline turbo engine with 218 horsepower, automatic transmission, cruise control, all-round cameras, heated and ventilated seats. It is similar in size to the BMW X3. The company also received approval to produce its flagship model, the H9 sedan, with a 245-horsepower 2.0-liter engine, a seven-speed gearbox and a rear-wheel drive system.