BYD's dominance is evident: from January to August this year, the BYD Song PLUS sold an impressive 302.000 units, with annual sales expected to easily surpass 400.000. Essentially, the Song PLUS has taken over a significant portion of the market once held by models like the H6. Tiggo 8. CS75. and Boyue.
As the saying goes, "The bigger the tree, the more wind it catches." The Song PLUS has attracted challenges from many new competitors. Given how lucrative this market is, newcomers base their product designs and pricing strategies on the Song PLUS, offering more features for the same price to gain a value-for-money advantage.
However, while the Song PLUS sells well, product strength is not its primary draw. Aside from BYD's brand reputation, its success also stems from the national pride and sentiment associated with its in-house battery and chip production.
Simply put, to compete with the Song PLUS, a rival needs not only strong product offerings but also a deep sense of national pride. Despite the Leapmotor C10 boasting longer range, larger space, and more features, it will be difficult to challenge the Song PLUS's dominance in the short term, despite decent sales.
On September 21. the "national team" finally entered the ring: Hongqi launched the PHEV version of the HS3. Hongqi took a smart approach by releasing only one model, priced at a single point—¥139.800.
BYD fans shouldn't scoff. While Hongqi's sales can't compare to BYD's, in terms of brand recognition and loyalty, the two are on par. In many regions, the Hongqi brand still carries significant weight, and when it comes to leveraging national pride, Hongqi remains the pioneer in the automotive industry.
After meeting the sentiment-driven demand, it's time to compare the product strengths of the Hongqi HS3 PHEV and the BYD Song PLUS. The closest Song PLUS model to the HS3's ¥139.800 price is the base model, with only a ¥4.000 price difference between the two, but a significant gap in features.
First, in terms of battery, the Hongqi HS3 supports 55 kW fast charging, allowing it to charge from 20% to 80% in just 30 minutes. Its slow charging time is only 2.6 hours. The Song PLUS, on the other hand, does not have this capability. Additionally, the HS3 offers a pure electric range of 115 km, while the entry-level Song PLUS only provides 75 km.
In terms of active safety features, the Hongqi HS3 offers lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking, driver fatigue reminder, door opening alert, front and rear collision warnings, and road assistance—features absent in the entry-level Song PLUS.
The Hongqi HS3 also has a front-facing vision camera, providing full-speed adaptive cruise control and L2-level autonomous driving assistance. In contrast, the Song PLUS only offers basic cruise control.
When it comes to comfort features, the Hongqi HS3 surpasses the Song PLUS with additions such as a hands-free trunk, adaptive headlights, cornering lights, rain-sensing wipers, 40W wireless phone charging, heated and ventilated front seats, and a 253-color interior ambient lighting system.
Given these feature differences, the Hongqi HS3 justifies its ¥4.000 price premium over the Song PLUS. However, Hongqi’s weakness lies in its product design and marketing strategies.
In terms of design, the HS3’s exterior and interior barely hint at the era of smart cars, lacking thoughtful touches. Without a green license plate, it’s hard to even recognize it as a PHEV. The vehicle has little sense of technology, but one advantage is the efficient use of space—particularly the large rear seating area.
Hongqi has historically devoted most of its marketing resources to its premium product lines, seemingly overlooking entry-level models like the HS3. Yet, in reality, the HS3 PHEV should be the flagship national car for the Hongqi brand. Only by making this vehicle more widely known can it potentially compete head-to-head with the Song PLUS.
