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FAW introduces the patriotic Red Flag H7

Xinhua, July 16, 2012

• Workers from FAW Group sing around the Red Flag H7 premium sedan during a ceremony to mark the start of mass production of the new model Sunday in Changchun, Jilin Province. FAW hopes to revive its Red Flag brand, one of China's two oldest car brands and a former favorite of Chinese leaders.

  The latest luxurious model of China's flagship sedan brand Hongqi, or Red Flag, officially rolled off production line and entered mass production Sunday.

  Xu Jianyi, chairman of auto giant China FAW Group Corporation, said the Hongqi H7 model, to be released in October, is designed to compete with overseas rivals like Audi and Benz to help the carmaker get a slice of the country's high-end passenger car market.

  The new model is Hongqi's first hybrid sedan and its core technologies have been developed independently by the company.

  FAW also said it would invest 10.5 billion yuan (1.6 billion U.S. dollars) in the Hongqi brand to develop more models, including SUV and minibus, in the next five years.

  The Hongqi sedan, since its first appearance in 1958, has been regarded as China's prime protocol car. It was frequently used by top Chinese leaders like Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping in big state celebrations and receptions for important foreign guests including then U.S. President Richard Nixon in his ice-breaking visit to China in 1972.

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