Chinese carmaker GAC is likely to grow its Australian line-up, if a large SUV it’s displaying at Sydney’s Everything Electric show gets the public reaction it hopes for.
Shown off in Australia for the first time, the GAC S7 is a large, plug-in hybrid SUV that’s been on sale in China since March 2025, where it’s called the Trumpchi Xiangwang S7.
The GAC S7 on display at the Everything Electric show.
With GAC planning to start right-hand-drive production of it in the second half of 2027, the company is “proactively looking” to bring the S7 to Australian showrooms.
Available with either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive in China, only the latter seems to be on the table for Australia.
Momentum is provided by a pair of electric motors, one at each axle. GAC quotes outputs of 170kW and 220Nm for the front motor, and 80kW and 220Nm for the rear. The motors are combined with a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine with reported outputs of 118kW and 220Nm.
A 36.3kWh LFP battery provides 150km of electric only-range, albeit under the superseded NEDC testing cycle, with a claimed combined range claim of 1020km (in foreign market specification).
Though quite chunky at 4900mm long, 1950mm wide and 1780mm high (GAC claims the latter is class-leading), the GAC S7 seats five, not seven. Reportedly weighing roughly 2.2 tonnes, GAC claims the S7 uses “submarine-grade steel”.
Interestingly, in China the GAC S7 is fitted with frequency-selective dampers, a comparatively low-tech suspension technology usually adopted for sharp handling.
The interior is as usual for upmarket Chinese tastes, with a very minimal dashboard anchored by a 15.6-inch central screen, a pair of wireless chargers and an 8.88-inch driver’s display.
The rear seats, themselves treated to a 17.3-inch screen in the ceiling, recline. On the passenger side, a leg rest emerges as the seat reclines.
Car News China reports the S7 is upholstered in no less than 23 square metres of leather.
If green lit for Australian release, local pricing and specifications are likely to emerge sometime next year, when right-hand-drive production begins.
In China, AWD S7s (the kind we’re likely to get) retail from the equivalent of AU$48,200; expect this price to rise for the Australian market.
