The Chinese marque Roewe is owned by manufacturer SAIC (formerly Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation). It was established in 2006, following the SAIC's purchase of technology relating to the Rover 75 and 25 following the collapse of British firm MG Rover in 2005. However, SAIC failed to purchase the Rover marque from BMW - it was actually sold to Ford in 2006 - so it was necessary to register a new name. 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. Loewe, pronounced much like Roewe by Chinese speakers, is also the name of a Spanish manufacturer of luxury leather goods.
The Roewe range comprises the 950, 750, 550, 350, E50 and W5. The badge-engineered models shall are described below:
The Roewe 750, launched in October 2006, is a revised version of the Rover 75 with the wheelbase stretched by 103 millimetres (4.1 in) and a re-worked rear end. The drivetrain is a 2.5 litre V6 petrol unit based on the Rover KV6 engine and the gearbox is a completely new 5-speed automatic. Subsequently, a 1.8T (turbo) petrol engine based on the Rover K-series, delivering around 150 bhp (112 kW; 152 PS) was introduced.
The Roewe 950 is a B-plus class executive saloon and the flagship model of the Roewe range. It was launched in April 2012 and is based on the long wheel base version of General Motors' Epsilon II platform, which it shares with the Buick Lacrosse. The 950 was developed over a three year period at a cost of around 1.8 billion yuan.
The Roewe W5, the firm's first SUV, was launched at the 2011 Auto Shanghai motor show. The W5 is based on the SsangYong Kyron and is powered by the same 1.8 litre engine as used in the Roewe 550 and 750.