On 9 June 2016, Alibaba officially unveiled the Roewe RX5, its first “Internet car” in collaboration with SAIC.

The capital "E" in Roewe's naming system indicates fully electric while the lower case "e" indicates hybrid.

It featured a new front fascia, including a new headlights, a new grille shape which adds one diamond like woven shape with a new black background Roewe logo, and a refreshed rear fascia.The Roewe RX5 Plus received another facelift in 2021 mainly updating the front grilles.

The pure electric range of the RX5 eMax is 70 kilometres (43 mi), and the fuel consumption is 1.4 L/100 km (200 mpg‑imp; 170 mpg‑US).

[10] The Roewe RX5 Max received a facelift for the 2021 model year and was launched during the 2020 Guangzhou Auto Show in November 2020.

The facelift carries over the same powertrain while featuring a full-width headlamp across the front fascia and the updated Roewe logo.

The engine is the updated version of the second generation Blue Core powertrain of SAIC.

The PHEV variant is powered by SAIC's Blue Core GS61 1.5-litre turbo VTGI engine developing 138 kW (185 hp; 188 PS) and an electric motor with a maximum output of 180 kW (241 hp; 245 PS) and 570 N⋅m (420 lb⋅ft; 58.1 kg⋅m).