Maker of Chairman Mao's Limousine Shows Green Sports Car Concept

(Bloomberg) -- The Red Flag now comes in green.

China FAW Group Corp., the carmaker that developed the Hongqi, or Red Flag, limousine for Chairman Mao Zedong six decades ago, unveiled the E-Jing GT electric sports car concept at the Beijing auto show Wednesday.

The sleek, two-door model was presented in a turquoise-green hue the carmaker calls Kanas Green -- a name apparently inspired by the Kanas Lake area in China’s northwestern Xinjiang province. The back is gently sloping, similar to many sports cars, but the front retains a rather boxy look reminiscent of the original Red Flag limousines.

The electric concept comes at a time when FAW is investing to revive the symbolically important brand used by elite Chinese government officials. The automaker is introducing more Red Flag models, including the H5 mid-sized sedan whose sales are starting at the show.

FAW has also invested in Chinese electric-car startup Byton as part of its efforts to breathe new life into Red Flag, with plans to cooperate in product development, manufacturing, supply-chain management and sales.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Tian Ying in Beijing at ytian@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anand Krishnamoorthy at anandk@bloomberg.net, Lena Lee, Ville Heiskanen

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.

With assistance from Tian Ying