Qoros 3 History

The Qoros 3 made its world debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2013, designed by ex-Mini designer Gert Hildebrand and engineered to meet European crash and quality standards from the outset. It went on sale in China and Slovakia in late 2013, offering a 1.6-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder (126 bhp) and a 1.6-litre turbocharged variant (156 bhp), each paired with a six-speed manual or automatic transmission.

In September 2013 the Qoros 3 sedan achieved an adult occupant score of 95% and a five-star rating in Euro NCAP crash tests — a first for any car originating in China. The result generated significant international press and positioned Qoros as a quality-conscious outlier among Chinese start-up brands of the era.

Over its lifecycle the Qoros 3 expanded into additional body styles: a 5-door hatchback variant, an estate (wagon), and the Qoros 3 City SUV — a raised, crossover-styled version of the same platform that debuted at the 2014 Guangzhou Auto Show and became a longer-running model than the original sedan. A 1.5-litre turbocharged engine was introduced in a later update. The entire Qoros 3 family was discontinued by 2020 as the company's financial position deteriorated.