Place: Liping, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province
<p>Chinese name: 荣威RX5 (róngwēi RX5)
Year of launch: 2016
</p><p>The Roewe brand emerged after SAIC failed to acquire the Rover marque from BMW in 2005, instead it was sold to Ford in 2006. The carmakers probably feared SAIC would make SUVs competing with Land Rover... SAIC purchased technology relating to the Rover 75, but most assets were bought by Nanjing Automobile (NAC). NAC had the rights on the MG brand. In 2007 Nanjing Automobile merged with the much larger SAIC Group, which means SAIC is now controlling both Roewe and MG. Roewe's first product was the 750 launched in 2006, a revised and extended sedan based on the Rover 75. It was followed by the 550 based on the same underpinnings in 2008 and the new compact sedan 350 in 2010.
</p><p>The Roewe RX5 SUV was launched in 2016, succeeding the SsangYong Kyron-based W5. Unlike its predecessor, the RX5 is selling like mad, with almost 20,000 units a month. Last week Roewe launched a more compact SUV (4,40 m), the RX3.
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Sales figures: carsalesbase.com/china-car-sales-data/roewe/roewe-rx5/
Rutger van der Maar
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