The GWM stand at the 2025 Shanghai motor show needed its own postcode. For a brand that barely made a dent in Australia a decade ago, it’s surreal to see the veritable army of sub-brands and models GWM produces today.
This is the world’s biggest car exhibition, and the scale of wares saw it take over a substantial chunk of one of the show’s mammoth halls.
Hardcore off-road Tanks and Cannon pickups, a fleet of boxy Havals, Ora EVs, luxury Wey people movers and even a giant motorcycle with flat-eight cylinder engine were part of the line-up.
We should pay attention. Last year, GWM became the tenth best-selling brand in Australia, trumping Subaru and Volkswagen, and almost dislodging Nissan.
It’s been a meteoric rise, despite many Australians’ misgivings about buying Chinese vehicles. In 2018, when it sold the Great Wall Steed ute and four Haval models, it shifted only 1500 units. In 2024 – now rebadged GWM and selling Cannon utes, Haval and Tank SUVs, and the Ora EV, it was over 40,000.
The Chinese giant has loftier Australian ambitions, and the cars we saw in Shanghai show the smorgasbord GWM’s Aussie product planners can pick from.
Disappointingly – and as with last year’s Beijing auto show – there’s much talk of “under consideration” for our market rather than much locked in. But once the decision’s made, they move fast.
Positively for us, this year’s exhibition showcased much of what turns Aussies on. Namely, hardcore 4×4 accessories, large SUVs, hybrid power and – most intriguingly of all – the promise of a 4.0L twin-turbo petrol V8 plug-in hybrid.
We were able to look through this new engine and the GWM inventory at the show, then have annoyingly short test drives in a car park on the edge of town. Here are our highlights.
Navigate the new models here
- Tank 300 Hooke Trail special edition
- Tank 300 with KIT-A Genuine Accessories
- Haval Raptor
- Haval H7
- Tank 700 PHEV
- Tank 400 Hi4-T
- Wey 07
- Haval H9
Tank 300 Hooke Trail special edition
The boxy medium SUV has been a winner for GWM, but you sense the Tank 300 needs more than just the recent arrival of a diesel engine.
How about a special edition? On display was a Hooke Trail version, sporting a 260kW/500Nm 3.0L turbo V6 mild hybrid, solid axles, sway bar disconnect, lift kit, all-terrains and beadlock rims.
While presenting the vehicle, GWM execs used it as an example of where the new V8 PHEV powertrain could be utilised, which would create an off-roader in the mould of the discontinued Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with HEMI V8.
A new Tank 300 hero? Even if it never turned a profit, such a flagship would do great things for brand building and be absolutely unique in market.
Tank 300 with KIT-A Genuine Accessories
On show were GWM’s genuine accessories coating a line-up of Tanks, Cannons and Havals, but it worked most successfully on the boxy 300.
Australian Tank 300 owners are offered basic accessories – think nudge bars, roof tray and bike carriers – but the Chinese market gets the full monty.
Our favourite was the KIT-A setup, bringing beadlock wheels, multi-terrain knobbly tyres, K-MAN off-road nitrogen shock absorber lift kit, Daka Racing upper control arms, new front grille, replacement metal bonnet, front bumper with winch, fender flares, side ladder, roof platform, storage boxes, side canopy and a passenger dash screen.
Coated in baby blue it looks both tough and great fun. If GWM provided these as genuine accessories it’d do their bottom line no harm at all.
Haval Raptor
Under consideration for Australia, but it’s similar sized to the brand’s H6 medium SUV. However, its boxy body, all-wheel-drive, decent 221mm ground clearance and rear diff lock make it a very different vehicle, and a Subaru Forester / Outback alternative with reasonable off-road clout.
It’s a monocoque SUV rather than ladder frame and there’s no low range transfer case, so it’s no hardcore explorer, but many buyers don’t need such abilities.
It’s got solid numbers from its 1.5-litre petrol turbo petrol with plug-in hybrid tech using dual e-motors. Over 100km electric range is claimed from its 27kWh battery, and solid 0-100km/h performance thanks to the combined 282kW/750Nm output.
Inside is a 14.6-inch centre screen, 12.3-inch driver display and Level 2 autonomous driving, but cheaper feeling plastics reveal its budget roots. If this PHEV could come in at around $45k, it’d look pretty appealing.
It wouldn’t be called Raptor in Australia (Ford wouldn’t allow it), so would adopt the “H” and a number for our market.
Haval H7
Brilliantly called “Big Dog” in other markets, it’ll adopt the less exciting H7 name when it arrives in Australia in the third quarter of this year. Yep, this is a GWM product that is locked in for our showrooms.
Also a mid-size SUV, it’s of similar dimensions to Haval’s H6, H6 GT and Tank 300, so it’ll be a crowded group. Add the above Haval Raptor and it looks really busy.
But this H7 has a chunkier body than the H6, roof rails and in-vogue round headlights. However, it shares underpinnings with the H6, and arrives as a 2WD 1.5-litre turbo hybrid, so it’s no off-roader. The Raptor or Tank alternatives would have to cover that.
In China there’s a 2.0-litre turbo all-wheel-drive, which could join the Australian model later. For now, it’s about being well-priced and well-equipped, and our brief test drive revealed it’s spritely with 179kW and 530Nm – solid numbers.
The cabin boasted decent screens, layout and space, but hard plastics again showed it’s more budget minded. That said, if they’re priced around the low $40k, it’d prove appealing value to go with its chunky good looks.
Tank 700 PHEV
The flagship Tank 700 has been mooted for Australia for over a year, but appears closer than ever.
A facelifted version is imminent, and that’s the one Australia would no doubt take. The current version of this Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series rival has only two rows of seats; a third row scuppered by its giant battery from the plug-in hybrid system under the boot floor.
Whether this can be addressed to offer seven seats in an updated version remains to be seen, but not offering a third row would hamper Australian appetite. As would a poor tow rating. We were told the 700 PHEV is rated 3500kg in China, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to the same for our more challenging market – harsher climate and longer warranty for example.
These 700 PHEVs are priced at around $100,000 in China, so it’d be a very pricey Tank in Australia. But performance and equipment are mighty: a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 plus electric motor, 9-speed transmission and 37kWh battery while delivering over 380kW and 800Nm, smashing a LandCruiser’s numbers.
It hits 100km/h in around five seconds, which feels surreal when you learn it weighs over three tonnes. We had a brief test drive and it displayed really good articulation, though its three diff locks were barely troubled.
You get up to 255mm ground clearance thanks to air suspension, 20-inch wheels, amazing feeling seats with heating/cooling/massaging and the expected giant screens. All electric range is up to 100km.
An imposing, rugged, luxury-packed upper large SUV, this is the flagship Tank needs to really make a mark. And that aforementioned V8 plug-in? Fit that – it’d be a likely home for the new V8 – and it’d be one hell of a halo off-road weapon.
Tank 400 Hi4-T
Less likely for Australia than the Tank 700, but there could be room for this chunky, funky medium/large SUV between the 300 and 500. Our test was in the more urban-leaning 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol model (not the more hardcore, better-equipped PHEV), offering 188kW and 380Nm, although we weren’t given the chance to go more than 10km/h over an obstacle.
A ladder-frame 4×4 with 2500kg towing, 800mm wading and 224mm ground clearance. Price one around $50k and it’d be a solid, military-looking family SUV to rival the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and Isuzu MU-X.
Wey 07
Is Australia ready for another new GWM brand? It and other Chinese giants have proven they aren’t averse to launching all-new marques, and this Wey 07 is rather bloody lovely.
It’s a giant wagon/SUV, and our test vehicle (where we were only allowed to passenger) was a 1.5-litre turbo plug-in hybrid with Level 2 autonomous driving. Our driver gave us an urban tour, and the driverless system — called NOA — behaved exceptionally for the most part. The driver took over the controls at certain points, suggesting there’s not full faith in the tech.
Beautiful power delivery, wafty silent running and a lovely finish to all surfaces made this a plush MPV to passenger in, but it rode firmer than a car like this should. With Australian (ex-Holden) vehicle dynamics engineer Rob Trubiani now on the GWM squad, if the Wey came to Australia he’d no doubt soon remedy that.
The 07’s appeal is helped by a cavernous interior and 3050mm wheelbase. We opted for the second row captain’s chairs (it’s a six seater), enjoyed power, heated, cooled and massage seats, and a TV folding down from the ceiling.
The dashboard boasts a pair of infotainment screens stretching to in front of the passenger, and our experience was of incredible quality, speed and colour. Not so great was the driver clearly able to watch this monitor if he so wished (he didn’t, in our case).
It uses a massive (for a PHEV) 44.5kWh battery, so a pure EV range close to 200km is claimed. Next to the more challengingly styled Wey 80 people mover (has a front grille a Mack truck would be proud of), the 07 is a reasonable looker too, albeit very generic.
Haval H9
Australia received the old H9 between 2015 and 2021, but will it ever take this second-generation seven-seater? It’d be an interesting cut-price alternative to the Toyota Prado. But GWM’s obviously hesitant to bring this in as it’d directly challenge the group’s Tank 500 4WD.
We managed to jump in one with a new 2.4-litre turbo-diesel engine, which would appeal to Aussies, although it felt rather gruff and over-worked trying to haul this big unit.
It’s a seven-seat large SUV with ladder frame, diff locks, 800mm wading and, as it proved on our brief ramp test, decent suspension travel and articulation. Our slalom drive course put it in its worst environment, the tight turns showing it was a real wobbler and the stability/traction control systems very early to intervene.
The 135kW/480Nm diesel motor already sees service in the Cannon Alpha ute, and it’d be a challenge to offer it without a hybrid/plug-in hybrid variant in the face of our increasingly strict NVES efficiency standards.
GWM’s Hi-4 hybrids also feel much more modern, feisty powertrains, although whether they’d offer the economy and towing of a diesel is an unknown.
The H9 is massive, has a plush interior with the expected tech and luxuries; and looks the business too, especially with some of the rugged off-road accessories shown at the Shanghai event. Drop one in at not much over $50k and it’d raise eyebrows.
