A Hongqi CA7180A2E, seen in 2011 in the Chinese capital Beijing. The Hongqi was in a great shape. Painted in black with slightly darkened windows and a gray license plate frame. These frames were a popular after-market accessory in the 2000’s.
The Hongqi CA7180A2E is based on the Audi 100 that was manufactured in China by the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture. FAW, or First Auto Works, is also the owner of the Hongqi (Red Flag) brand.
Check out the factory standard mud flaps with the First Auto Works ‘1’ logo. The rear lights were connected by a red bar that covered the entire area between the lights and around the license plate. On the right side the ABS badge. When the CA7180A2E came out, ABS was still a rarity in China, so many cars that had ABS came with this kind of badges.
The Hongqi CA7180A2E had a short run, it was only made from 2001 until 2003. There was also a stretched variant which was called the Hongqi CA7180 A2EL1. Power came from an Audi 1.8 liter four-cylinder petrol with 93hp, mated to a five-speed manual transmission. Price for the CA 7180 A2E in 2001 ranged from 158.000 yuan to 169.800 yuan.
Sadly, these interesting Chinese-German sedans are very rare in Beijing these days, due to the ever stricter emission standards. But in smaller cities some are still around.