Roewe is a vehicle marque created by the Chinese automaker

SAIC Motor SAIC Motor Corp., Ltd. (formerly Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Anting, Shanghai. Founded in 1955, it is currently the largest of the " Big Four" state-owned car manu ...

in 2006, focuses in

luxury cars A luxury car is a car that provides increased levels of comfort, equipment, amenities, quality, performance, and associated status compared to moderately priced cars. The term is subjective and reflects both the qualities of the car and the b ...

. Roewe vehicles were initially based on technology acquired from defunct British carmaker MG Rover. SAIC was unable to purchase the rights to the Rover brand name (which was retained by BMW, subsequently sold to Ford and ultimately returned to Jaguar Land Rover) and created the Roewe marque as a replacement. It is sold in most export markets outside China under the MG marque.

Name

The name ''Roewe'' originates from SAIC's failure to acquire the Rover brand name from BMW c. 2005 (it was instead sold to Ford in 2006,China debut for Rover-based car
bbc.co.uk, Monday, 20 November 2006, 20:41 GMT and the brand is currently owned by Jaguar Land Rover). Composed of the Chinese characters ''Róng'' and ''wēi'', which roughly mean "glorious power", the name is a transliteration of ''Rover'', although SAIC has stated that it is derived from ''Löwe'', the German word for lion.

History

SAIC purchased technology relating to the Rover 75 and Rover 25 after the 2005 collapse of MG Rover, and the Roewe marque first appeared on a version of the 75, the Roewe 750. Originally intending to purchase all assets of the failed British company, SAIC was outbid by Nanjing Automobile. In 2007, SAIC merged with Nanjing Auto, so it now controls those MG Rover properties, such as the MG name and a Birmingham factory, the

Longbridge plant Longbridge plant is an industrial complex in Longbridge, Birmingham, England, currently leased by SAIC as a research and development facility for its MG Motor subsidiary. Vehicle assembly ended in 2016. Opened in 1905, by the late 1960s Longbr ...

, that it was initially unable to acquire. English engineering firm Ricardo assisted the development of early Roewe models and set up a new company in the UK, Ricardo (2010) Consultants Ltd, which helped bring the 750 to market. According to SAIC, work on the vehicle was also done in China. In 2007, Ricardo (2010) Consultants was purchased by SAIC and renamed SAIC Motor UK Technical Centre. It employs over 200 British ex-Rover engineers. The Roewe brand unveiled the Roewe Vision-R electric concept car at the 2015 Guangzhou Auto Show in China that and previews a new generation of the Roewe design language for the Chinese brand, featuring sharp creases and a full width grille that evolved from the previous Roewe shield grille. The new design theme was applied to products launched shortly after such as the Roewe i5, i6, RX3, RX5, RX7, RX8, and Marvel X, as well as facelifts of the Roewe 950 and Roewe 360 Plus.

Current models

Roewe Clever The Roewe Clever or SAIC Clever (科莱威) is an all-electric car that is manufactured by the Chinese manufacturer SAIC Motor. Overview The Clever was launched in March 2020 as an electric city car aiming to replace the Roewe E50 with a 27kWh ...

— An

all-electric An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...

supermini, the successor of the

Roewe E50 The Roewe E50 is an all-electric car that is manufactured by the Chinese manufacturer Roewe. Overview The E50 was originally unveiled as the E1 concept car at the 2012 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition. In November 2012, SAIC Motor in ...

. *

Roewe i5 The Roewe i5 is a subcompact car produced by SAIC Motor since 2017. Available as a sedan and as an electric station wagon, the latter was first introduced via the electric station wagon version, the Roewe Ei5, the compact station wagon debuted on ...

/Ei5 — A compact station wagon. *

Roewe i6 The Roewe i6 is a compact sedan produced by SAIC Motor under the Roewe brand, succeeding the Roewe 550. The Roewe ei6 is the hybrid version of the i6. The Roewe i6 was previewed by the Roewe Vision-R, that debuted during the 2015 Guangzhou Auto ...

/ei6/i6 Max/ei6 Max —A compact sedan *

Roewe RX3 The Roewe RX3 is a subcompact crossover manufactured by SAIC's sub brand, Roewe. The original RX3 was sold from 2017 and received an update called the RX3 Pro in 2021. A larger hybrid variant in the compact crossover SUV segment called the Lomem ...

/ RX3 Pro — A subcompact crossover *

Roewe RX5 The Roewe RX5 is a compact crossover SUV that is manufactured by SAIC Motor under the Roewe brand. The RX5 is available as a petrol-powered RX5 variant, a plug-in hybrid eRX5 variant and a pure electric ERX5 variant. The facelift model is called t ...

/eRX5/ERX5/RX5 Plus - A compact crossover, with hybrid and full-electric options. *

Roewe RX5 Max The Roewe RX5 is a compact crossover SUV that is manufactured by SAIC Motor under the Roewe brand. The RX5 is available as a petrol-powered RX5 variant, a plug-in hybrid eRX5 variant and a pure electric ERX5 variant. The facelift model is called t ...

— A more upmarket mid-size crossover based on the RX5. *

Roewe Marvel X The Rising Auto Marvel R and its predecessor, the Roewe Marvel X, are electric compact crossover SUVs manufactured by the Chinese manufacturer SAIC Group under the Roewe brand. The Roewe Marvel X was launched in 2018 and is positioned above the ...

/ Marvel R — An electric mid-size CUV *

Roewe RX8 The Roewe RX8 is a mid-size SUV produced by SAIC Motor. It is the flagship SUV of the brand of Roewe, replacing the Roewe W5. It is also marketed as the MG RX8 in overseas markets. Overview The Roewe RX8 debuted in April 2018 at the Beijing Aut ...

— Roewe's flagship full size SUV *

Roewe RX9 The Roewe RX9 is a mid-size SUV produced by the SAIC under the Roewe Roewe is a vehicle marque created by the Chinese automaker SAIC Motor in 2006, focuses in luxury cars. Roewe vehicles were initially based on technology acquired from def ...

* Roewe iMAX8 — The Roewe iMAX8 is a minivan produced by Roewe since 2020.

Concepts

* Roewe Whale / Roewe Jing * Roewe Vision-R

Former models

* Roewe 950/ e950 — Executive sedan and the flagship model of the Roewe range * Roewe 750 (2006-2016) — A mid-size luxury sedan, based on the Rover 75 *

Roewe 550 The Roewe 550 is a compact car that is produced by Roewe in China, and was launched at the 2008 Beijing Motor Show. The 550 was reported to be derived from the MG Rover RDX60 project (itself based on the platform of the Rover 75) which was under ...

(2008-2014) — A compact car, also based on the Rover 75 *

Roewe 360 The Roewe 360 is a compact sedan by Roewe's sub-brand, SAIC. Overview The Roewe 360 was introduced in 2015 as the successor of the Roewe 350 compact sedan. Since SAIC can use GM engines and transmissions under a deal agreed in 2014, the Roewe ...

/360 Plus. — A compact sedan, replacement for the outdated

Roewe 350 The Roewe 350 is a small family car or compact car produced by Roewe in China onwards from 2010,the 2.0 liter turbo engine produces 247 hp and goes from 0-100 in 4.8 seconds, this type of engine can only be found in the middle east and in Chi ...

(2010-2014) — A compact car *

Roewe W5 The Roewe W5 is a mid-size luxury SUV manufactured by Roewe in China. It was first unveiled at the 2011 Auto Shanghai Exhibition. Overview The Roewe W5 is based on the SsangYong Kyron and was sold exclusively in China. It features a 1.8-litre, ...

(2011-2017) — A mid-size SUV, based on the

SsangYong Kyron The SsangYong Kyron is a mid-size SUV built by the SsangYong Motor Company. It had a Mercedes-Benz diesel engine and was designed by Ken Greenley. It received a facelift in 2007. The name of the car is an inaccurate portmanteau made combining the ...

(2013-2016) — An all-electric supermini * Roewe 850 (????-????) — A full-size luxury sedan, based on the SsangYong Chairman

Product Gallery

Former products: File:Roewe E50 001 China 2014-04-20.JPG, Roewe e50 File:Roewe 350 facelift China 2012-06-02.jpg, Roewe 350 File:Roewe 360 01 China 2016-04-16.jpg, Roewe 360 File:Roewe 550 2 China 2012-06-02.JPG, Roewe 550 File:Roewe e550 China 2016-04-16.jpg, Roewe e550 File:Roewe 750 01 China 2012-04-22.JPG, Roewe 750 File:Roewe 950 01 China 2012-06-02.JPG, Roewe 950 File:Roewe W5 China 2016-04-17.jpg, Roewe W5 File:Roewe 360 Plus 01.jpg, Roewe 360 Plus File:Roewe i5 004.jpg, Roewe i5 File:Roewe Ei5 002.jpg, Roewe Ei5 File:Roewe i6 02 China 2017-03-19.jpg, Roewe i6 File:Roewe ei6 01 China 2018-03-06.jpg, Roewe ei6 File:Roewe e950 front.jpg, Roewe e950 File:Roewe RX3 01.jpg, Roewe RX3 File:Roewe RX5 01 China 2017-03-19.jpg, Roewe RX5 File:2017 Roewe eRX5 (front).jpg, Roewe eRX5 File:Roewe Marvel X 001 China 2019-04-04.jpg, Roewe Marvel X File:Roewe RX8 005.jpg, Roewe RX8 Current products: File:Roewe i5 facelift IMG001.jpg, Roewe i5 File:Roewe ei6 Max 20210320.jpg, Roewe ei6 Max File:Roewe RX3 Pro 001.jpg, Roewe RX3 Pro File:Roewe RX5 ePlus IMG001.jpg, Roewe RX5 ePlus File:Roewe iMax 8 001.jpg, Roewe iMax 8 File:Roewe RX5 Max facelift 001.jpg, Roewe RX5 Max File:Roewe Ei5 facelift 002.jpg, Roewe Ei5 File:Roewe ER6 007.jpg, Roewe ER6 File:Roewe Marvel R 001.jpg, Roewe Marvel R

Sales

A total of 155,336 Roewe vehicles were sold in China in 2013, making it the 29th largest-selling car brand in the country in that year (and the 13th largest-selling Chinese brand).

Exports

Outside of China, Roewe-derived models are currently sold under the MG marque.SAIC expands MG line-up in Europe
bbc.co.uk, 12:38 GMT, Wednesday, 24 March 2010 In 2008, the Roewe 550 and 750 were launched in Chile under the names MG 550 and MG 750, respectively. The smaller MG 350 and sporty MG 6 were displayed at the eleventh Santiago Motor Show in October 2010. European sales first began in Belarus, with an MG-badged version of the 550. British car magazine '' Autocar'' tested the Roewe 350 in 2010 suggesting that the model would be built and sold in the UK, but Roewe denied this. Nonetheless, as of April 2011 SAIC's MG6 (a reworked Roewe 550) commenced assembly at the old MG Rover plant in

Longbridge Longbridge is an area of Northfield in the south-west of Birmingham, England, located near the border with Worcestershire. Public Transport Longbridge is described as a hub for public transport with a number of bus services run by Kev's Coa ...

. The European market cars feature certain improvements over its Chinese siblings, meeting

Euro V The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and EEA member states and the UK, and ships in EU waters. The standards are defined in a seri ...

rather than

Euro IV The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and EEA member states and the UK, and ships in EU waters. The standards are defined in a seri ...

emissions standards.SAIC launches new MG car in UK
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China, 2011/04/13

References

External links

* (Chinese) {{Navboxes, list1= {{SAIC Motor {{Automotive industry in China Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2006 SAIC Motor brands Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers Chinese brands Car brands