Hongqi launched two electric vehicles on April 18 under the new Tiangong sub-brand: the Tiangong 05 sedan and Tiangong 06 SUV. Both run an 800-volt architecture, both charge from 10 to 80 percent in about 12 minutes, and both open at prices that put Hongqi in an unusual place for a brand that spent the last seventy years selling ceremonial limousines to Chinese presidents.
The Tiangong 05 starts at 171,800 yuan (roughly 23,900 US dollars) with up to 650 km of CLTC range. The SUV Tiangong 06 opens at 191,800 yuan (around 26,700 dollars) with 610 km. For context, Hongqi's existing HQ9 limousine starts north of 500,000 yuan. The Tiangong line is a deliberate reach into the mass-market EV fight, not a halo exercise.
800V Architecture, 12-Minute Fast Charging
The 800V platform is the headline, and it lands in both cars as standard rather than a top-trim option. 10 to 80 percent takes about 12 minutes on a compatible fast charger, which is below the XPeng G9 reference point and competitive with the Zeekr 007 and Xiaomi SU7 in the same price bracket.
Both models include 6 kW vehicle-to-load discharge, a 15.6-inch central display, and an AI voice assistant that handles multi-zone commands across the cabin. Hongqi did not publish battery capacity, peak motor output, or curb weight figures at launch, which is a choice that will come back to bite the spec-sheet reviewers.
05 Is the Aero Play, 06 Is the Tech Flagship
The Tiangong 05 is a fastback sedan tuned for aero efficiency: a closed front grille, hidden door handles, and a drag coefficient of 0.213 Cd. The low number is the argument. At 0.213, the 05 sits just above the Lucid Air (0.197) and comfortably below the Tesla Model 3 (0.219) on the public aerodynamics leaderboard. Aero is one of the few ways to claim extra CLTC range without adding battery cost, and Hongqi took the hint.
The Tiangong 06 SUV picks up more of the tech content: AR head-up display, Dynaudio 14-speaker audio, and a combined highway-plus-urban driver assistance system. The 06 is the one Hongqi will push on showroom traffic. The 05 is for the buyers who actually care what a Cd number means.
The Brand Context Matters
Hongqi sold 24,594 vehicles in March 2026, up 29.4 percent month-on-month but down 25.4 percent year-on-year, with 1.5 percent market share. The trajectory is not healthy, and the Tiangong sub-brand reads as an answer. The existing HQ range still carries the "national limousine" image, which translates poorly into the sub-200,000-yuan EV fight where buyers care about software, charging, and compute, not heritage or diplomatic pedigree.
Solid-state batteries are on the Hongqi roadmap for around 2027, and a new off-road SUV codenamed P567 is scheduled for the Beijing Auto Show that opens April 24. The Tiangong 05 and 06 begin retail today in China. Whether the sub-brand earns its own showroom or gets folded back into Hongqi proper by 2028 will depend on what the monthly delivery numbers look like by Q4.