GAC M8 hybrid MPV priced to heat up Australia’s new luxury van battleground

Stepping into a GAC minivan costs just half what Lexus charges for an LM, while more Chinese MPVs are on the way to Australia

Australia’s burgeoning premium MPV market will expand further at the end of this month with the arrival of the GAC M8 plug-in hybrid minivan, priced from $76,590 plus on-road costs.

That price dramatically undercuts the hybrid-powered Lexus LM350h (from $163,520 + ORCs) and fully electric Zeekr 009 (from $115,900 + ORCs), with the GAC M8 set to most closely challenge the forthcoming GWM Wey G9 van, which like the M8, is a PHEV.

If purchased before the end of 2025, earlybird M8 buyers will also score $1000 off the driveaway price of the minivan, which is expected to be around $80,000 — while those early customers also nab a 22kW wallbox charger for home, and $500 in charging credit.

As the M8 is a PHEV, it falls under GAC’s newly-announced electrified vehicle warranty, which runs for eight years/unlimited kilometres — albeit with a limited battery warranty of eight years/200,000km.

Two variants of the M8 will be available sharing one powertrain: a PHEV system combining a Euro 6-compliant 2.0-litre turbo petrol four-cylinder and electric motor, making 140kW/330Nm combined, with a 25.5kWh ‘Magazine’ lithium iron phosphate battery.

That battery provides 106km electric range (at 24.1kWh/100km), and then a further 926km range from the petrol engine with quoted ‘dead battery’ efficiency of 6.1L/100km (WLTP).

GAC says the M8’s traction battery can be recharged, using DC power, from zero to 80 percent in 30 minutes (averaging 40kW), but AC charging power is limited to just 6.6kW.

Under the skin, the M8 houses a multi-link independent rear suspension, two-speed dedicated hybrid transmission and all-round disc brakes.

Entry to the M8 range is via the Premium grade ($76,590 + ORCs), which fits 18-inch alloy wheels, dual electric sliding doors, power tailgate, acoustic glass, vinyl upholstery, tri-zone climate control, a 12-way power driver’s seat, manually-adjusted second-row chairs, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.1-inch touchscreen with CarPlay and Android Auto.

Also standard are a 360-degree camera, front and rear parking sensors, tyre pressure monitoring, six USB ports and a wireless device charger.

GAC asks a further $7000 to step into the M8 Luxury grade, which adds spec in the form of extended adjustment for the second row seats (with massage function), heated steering wheel, fragrance dispenser, external vehicle-to-load (3.3kW), tray tables, second row sunshades, and quieter acoustic tyres.

Disappointingly, reversing AEB is also limited to the Luxury grade, but all M8 variants have forwards AEB, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring and lane-keep assist.