SINGAPORE – One whiff of the plush leather-lined cabin of the lilac-coloured sport utility vehicle (SUV) 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 landed in Singapore.

The cabin may even be hypoallergenic, given that nothing triggers this writer’s often overactive sinuses after 10 minutes in the show car on display at Singapore Motorshow 2026, which takes place from Jan 8 to 11.

As it turns out, the olfactory delight is no accident.

Speaking to The Straits Times on Jan 8, 2026 at the event held at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, Mr Liu Jifang, the Chinese brand’s representative for this part of the world, says every Hongqi car goes through extensive development to engineer how the cabin smells.

“This is part of what luxury means for the brand, where we focus on the customer’s needs and comfort,” he adds in Mandarin.

The work to prevent jarring scents in the cabin involves meticulously examining the materials used, from upholstery to adhesives.

Mr Liu is a senior executive with China FAW Group, the state-owned company behind Hongqi. In addition to South-east Asia, he oversees the brand’s operations in Central Asia and Latin America.

Singapore is the first right-hand-drive market in the world for Hongqi, ahead of Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

In the second half of 2026, the United Kingdom, Australia and Malaysia will be added to the list.

Even though Hongqi has been building cars since 1958, well before other Chinese brands, it is a relative latecomer to the export market.

However, Mr Liu says in these overseas markets, Hongqi’s luxury positioning sets it apart from Chinese counterparts that tend to have a more mass-market focus.

Hongqi began to ex...