China has set a record for the cost of buying an export car

The Chinese Hongqi Guoli sedan from the Golden Sunflower luxury series was purchased by a private client, the deal was finalized at the Shanghai Auto Show and became the most expensive export of a Chinese car in history. This is stated in the message of the brand's press service, which was received by Izvestia on July 9.

Taking into account the delivery to the United Arab Emirates, the sedan cost the customer 11 million yuan, which is about 120 million rubles or $ 1.5 million. The buyer was Stanislav Semenov, a graduate of MIPT and the founder of Eqvilent. The model was purchased in the Lanting Yayun version, the most expensive and exclusive two—tone body, available exclusively on an individual order.

Under the hood is a four-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine developed by FAW, which develops 388 hp (530 Nm) in conjunction with an 8-speed automatic, all-wheel drive. A car weighing over 3 tons can accelerate from a standstill to 100 km/h in 5.1 seconds, with a top speed of 220 km/h.

The company noted that the Golden Sunflower line was created "as a reflection of the Chinese ceremonial tradition in automotive design," and the Guoli model is the heir to the Hongqi L5, which was traditionally used by senior Chinese government officials. The center console and door panels are coated with 28 layers of varnish, each of which is applied manually, then naturally dried and polished for 60 days. The dashboard is decorated with mother-of-pearl trim depicting excerpts from the classic work "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion".

The cover of the central armrest is covered with a thin gold foil with a thickness of 0.15 mm and is made in the technique of Beijing coinage with an accuracy of 0.03 mm. Scenes from literary works are hand—embroidered on the backs of the rear seats - it takes up to 600 hours for two embroiderers to create one element. A Dynaudio audio system with 32 speakers is installed in combination with active noise reduction technology.

Not everyone will survive: every tenth car dealer may leave the market by the end of the year.

Low sales and internal competition reduce profitability

On June 3, Hongqi announced prices for the H6 liftback in Russia. The model is available in two trim levels — for 3.89 million and 4.09 million rubles. The H6 enters the market with a turbocharged two-liter engine with a capacity of 245 hp (380 Nm) paired with an eight-speed automatic, front-wheel drive.