Move aside Defenders and Broncos, the Chinese are coming.
Wuling Motors has just teased its new Hongguang X concept at the 2020 Chengdu Auto Show. With its bold, chunky design, perhaps a sign for what is to come for the Chinese automaker.
The Hongguang X is the latest product born from the joint venture between Wuling Motors, GM China and SAIC. Often abbreviated as SGMW, this Chinese-American joint venture has been primarily focused on producing MPVs and passenger cars at the lower end of the price bracket. Incidentally, SGMW is also one of the largest producers of microvans in China.
As for the Hongguang name, it was actually featured on a compact MPV for quite some years already, but Wuling today is attempting to target the higher-end SUV market with this new Hongguang X concept.
The exterior design of this Chinese SUV certainly is a departure from its predecessors of the same name. At the front, a large, square, gloss black grille is flanked by two large LED lights set within the front bumper. The X-shaped lights probably highlight that this is the Hongguang X.
Above these lights are yet another strip of LED illuminations, separated by a chrome trim that runs along the entire front of the car with the chrome Wuling emblem placed proudly in the middle of it. The front end design does borrow from styling cues from GM’s Chevrolet Blazer. Or if searching for an example more close to home, the Mitsubishi Triton.
Moving onto the side of this large SUV, the boxy slab-sided profile is similar to that of the Land Rover Defender 110. A large triangular body-coloured C pillar, with a cheeky little decorative vent, that runs across the top of the black roof invokes the design of a roll hoop. While the massively flared wheel arches hide beneath it equally massive black alloy wheels wearing road-biased tires.
Going along with the red and black theme, the candy red paintwork on the concept contrasts nicely with the matt black plastic trim around the wheel arches, sills and the roof. The suicide doors are a nice touch too, but then again this feature is highly unlikely to make it into the production models.
At the rear, you will find a rear light bar that runs across the entire rear of the Hongguang X. Something quite common on car design nowadays already. On either side there is smoked LED tail lights that are also set into the bodywork, as per the front lights. On the roof, there are two additional red LED strips, a mirror image of the front which have twin LED roof light strips.
As this is only a concept car, there are no mention of powertrain combinations, or even interior shots for that matter due to the blacked out windows. However, with Wuling planning to go global this year, maybe this stylish looking SUV will make its way here in production form soon.
