[The Straits Times] The 'smell' things matter for China's luxury car brand Hongqi

One whiff of the plush leather-lined cabin of the lilac-coloured sport utility vehicle will tell you exactly where Hongqi sits in the automotive kingdom. The air is better at the top — and China's most prestigious heritage brand, which means "red flag" in Chinese, has arrived.

Founded in 1958 as the first luxury automobile marque of China, Hongqi has spent more than six decades as a symbol of dignity and statecraft. Today, under the stewardship of Eurokars Group, the marque is reintroducing itself to a new generation of discerning owners — this time as an all-electric contender for the top of the luxury segment.

At the heart of that ambition is the E-HS9: a six-seat, all-electric flagship SUV engineered to change the way its passengers move through the world. But numbers alone — up to 492 bhp, 570 km of WLTP range — do not tell the whole story. For Hongqi, the details that cannot be measured on a spec sheet matter just as much.

"Luxury is not only what you see. It is what you feel, what you hear, and yes — even what you smell." — Hongqi Design Team

A cabin engineered for the senses

Step inside and the E-HS9 envelops you in grandeur. Ventilated front seats wrapped in premium leather, an integrated massage function, a four-zone climate control system, and PM2.5 filtration transform the interior into a sanctuary of comfort. Every surface, seam and material is considered, refined and finished with intent.

A panoramic skylight floods the cabin with light, while advanced double-wishbone front and trapezoidal-arm rear suspension — working in harmony with air suspension and Continuous Damping Control — deliver an effortlessly smooth ride. It is craftsmanship measured not in speed, but in reverence for the journey.

Heritage, reborn for the electric age

Hongqi's philosophy is one it calls New Nobility — heritage meeting innovation, Eastern craftsmanship meeting cutting-edge technology. For Singapore, and now for Nepal, it marks the arrival of a marque that has quietly carried a nation's aspirations for generations, and is ready to move the world forward.

The E-HS9 is available to view and test drive at the Hongqi showroom in Kathmandu. As the saying goes, the air really is better at the top.