Huasong

Huasong is a proprietary automotive brand under Brilliance Automotive Group Holdings Co., Ltd., established in 2014 and headquartered in Shenyang, Liaoning Province. Positioned as Brilliance Group’s high-end marque, the brand was dedicated to creating China’s very own world-class automotive brand. Huasong was tasked with the strategic mission of taking the Brilliance brand upmarket, with its models jointly developed by three top-tier engineering and design houses: Brilliance Automotive Group, Magna, and BMW Group Designworks, blending European styling with Oriental aesthetics. The name "Huasong" literally translates to "Ode to China", reflecting the brand's homage to the Chinese automotive industry and its drive for excellence. Alongside Jinbei and Zhonghua, Huasong completed Brilliance Group’s tripartite indigenous brand strategy, spearheading the premium MPV and executive transport segments.

Development History

The Huasong brand made its official debut on 7 November 2014 at Shanghai Aviator Theme Park, marking the culmination of a three-year effort by Brilliance Group to establish a premium domestic brand. Alongside the brand launch, its maiden model, the Huasong 7, was unveiled as a premium MPV targeting established joint-venture rivals such as the Buick GL8. Huasong's launch was regarded as a key milestone for Brilliance Group, representing a concrete leap from mass-market indigenous manufacturing into the premium segment. Qi Yumin, then Chairman and President of Brilliance Automotive Group, articulated the strategic ambition to "forge Huasong into a world-class brand"—a vision backed by an investment of RM2,600,000,000 and three years of continuous R&D by Brilliance Group.

Huasong's trajectory was closely tied to Brilliance Group's corporate strategy. On 15 December 2017, Renault Group and Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Limited signed an agreement to establish a joint venture: Renault Brilliance Jinbei Automotive Co., Ltd. The newly formed entity planned to manufacture and retail light commercial vehicles across three marques—Jinbei, Renault, and Huasong. Operations were based in Dadong District, Shenyang, to locally produce MPVs, medium-duty vans and lorries, and large vans and lorries, aiming for an annual sales volume of 150,000 units by 2022. Huasong was integrated into this three-brand strategy, leveraging Renault’s expertise in new energy vehicle (NEV) technology and global management systems.

However, Huasong’s commercial performance fell well short of expectations. When Brilliance Group entered bankruptcy restructuring proceedings in 2020, Huasong was heavily hit. Industry observers pointed out that brands such as Huasong and Zhonghua had limited brand equity and were saddled with substantial liabilities. Production of the Huasong 7 subsequently ceased, bringing all brand development to a complete standstill. Brilliance Group’s bankruptcy restructuring proved to be the turning point for Huasong, causing this once highly anticipated premium marque to gradually fade out of the market.

Brand Matrix / Product Line

To date, the Huasong brand has produced only one production model—the Huasong 7.

The Huasong 7 is a 7-seater mid-to-large executive MPV, officially launched in March 2015. Penned by BMW Group Designworks, the vehicle featured distinctive styling tailored for the executive MPV segment. The Huasong 7 range comprised three variants: Comfort, Luxury, and Flagship (marketed respectively as Automatic Elite, Automatic Executive, and Automatic Premium). The Automatic Elite was priced at RM237,700, the Automatic Executive at RM257,700, and the range-topping Automatic Premium at RM287,700. In terms of dimensions, the Huasong 7 measured 5,104 mm in length with a wheelbase exceeding 3,000 mm, offering a generous seven-seater cabin.

The Huasong 7's headline feature was its powertrain. Under the bonnet was a BMW-sourced N20 series 2.0T inline-four twin-scroll turbocharged petrol engine, offered in two states of tune. The lower-output variant produced 184 hp, while the higher-output version delivered 218 hp and 315 Nm of torque. This tried-and-tested powerplant was also utilised in locally assembled BMW models such as the BMW 3 Series, 5 Series, and X1. Built at BMW's Tiexi plant in Shenyang with a 40% local content rate, the engine incorporated core BMW technologies, including Valvetronic variable valve lift, optimised mixture combustion, and intelligent thermal management. Paired with an automatic transmission with manual mode, the Huasong 7 returned a rated fuel consumption of 9.6 litres per 100 km. Brilliance had outlined plans to roll out premium SUVs and executive saloons under the Huasong badge, but none ever reached serial production.

Market Performance

Huasong's commercial reality diverged sharply from its ambitious beginnings. As Brilliance Group's flagship offering, developed over three years with an RM2,600,000,000 outlay, the Huasong 7 was intended to challenge established heavyweights like the Buick GL8, Honda Odyssey, and Toyota Alphard, but market reception was lukewarm.

Sales figures told a sobering story: across the first nine months of 2015, nationwide sales of the Huasong 7 totalled just 749 units—with only 128 units delivered in the first eight months, propped up primarily by bulk fleet purchases and car rental orders in September. For the entire year of 2016, Huasong recorded 4,529 deliveries, dropping to 4,091 units in 2017, before collapsing to 1,069 units in 2018 and just 1,184 units in 2019. These numbers fell vastly short of the projected 150,000-unit annual target. Although June 2017 saw a brief surge to 2,002 units, sales plunged to a mere 17 units in July and dropped to zero in August, lingering in the doldrums ever since.

On the retail front, Huasong initially set up an extensive network of dealerships across China. However, crippled by poor sales, dealers gradually ceased taking orders; tier-one cities like Guangzhou eventually had zero 4S centres, severely curtailing after-sales coverage. While a tie-up with China Auto Rental (CAR Inc.) saw 1,000 units of the Huasong 7 deployed into fleet rental services—providing a short-term volume bump—it failed to arrest the brand's long-term commercial decline.

Core Technologies

The core engineering strength of the Huasong brand was concentrated in its powertrain. The BMW N20 series 2.0T engine powering the Huasong 7 was its biggest technical selling point. A benchmark powerplant in BMW's line-up and a former recipient of the "Ward's 10 Best Engines" accolade, the N20 featured BMW's proprietary Valvetronic variable valve lift, twin-scroll turbocharging, and high-precision direct injection, developing peak torque from just 1,250 rpm. Authorised by BMW and manufactured at Mianyang Xinchen Engine's production base from June 2014, the N20 programme was positioned as a major project aligned with China's energy conservation strategies, aimed at bridging the powertrain gap between Brilliance and international joint-venture marques while elevating Brilliance’s complete-vehicle engineering and brand stature.

In terms of complete-vehicle development, the Huasong 7 was jointly engineered by Brilliance Automotive Group, Magna Steyr (one of the world's largest automotive component manufacturers), and BMW Group Designworks. Magna contributed deep expertise in chassis tuning and vehicle dynamics engineering, while BMW Designworks brought international styling philosophies. Additionally, the Huasong 7 shared its parts supply chain with BMW models, meeting BMW quality standards across several critical components.

Huasong also explored electrification. Under the joint venture blueprint, the brand was slated to accelerate the rollout of electric vehicle powertrains; however, before operations ground to a halt, Huasong never brought any fully electric or hybrid model into production.

Overseas Presence

The Huasong brand never established an independent export footprint. As a domestic marque under Brilliance Group, its export potential and global presence relied entirely on Brilliance’s existing overseas distribution channels. Under the Renault Brilliance Jinbei joint-venture framework, Huasong did gain access to Renault's global procurement network and quality management systems, providing a foundation for international technical collaboration. Drawing upon Renault’s global commercial vehicle expertise, the joint venture provided Huasong with international-standard manufacturing and quality assurance capabilities. Nevertheless, following the discontinuation of the Huasong 7 and the brand's subsequent paralysis, Huasong never achieved any meaningful vehicle exports overseas.

Future Outlook

As of 2026, the Huasong brand remains in a state of complete dormancy. Following Brilliance Group’s bankruptcy restructuring, its sole production model, the Huasong 7, has been out of production for years. Industry analysts broadly view Huasong as a brand facing total market elimination. Market commentators attribute Huasong’s demise to fundamental mispositioning: as an unproven domestic newcomer lacking heritage, its maiden model was priced steeply between RM237,700 and RM287,700—placing it in direct competition with entrenched joint-venture stalwarts like the Buick GL8, which alienated buyers. Furthermore, the parent company's insolvency severely compromised after-sales support, leaving existing owners stranded with warranty shortfalls and difficult parts sourcing.

From an industry perspective, while Huasong possessed reputable technical hardware in its BMW-derived engines and Magna-tuned chassis, its shortcomings in brand marketing, exterior appeal, and commercial strategy proved insurmountable. Huasong’s trajectory serves as a cautionary tale for Chinese carmakers aiming upmarket: even with access to top-tier global technical resources, breaking into the premium segment remains exceptionally difficult without pinpoint market positioning and a robust, sustainable dealer and service network. In the current automotive landscape, whether Huasong will ever see asset restructuring or a brand revival remains deeply uncertain.