Is there anything they said no to? Meet the Chinese cars from Haval and GWM that should be considered for Australia

GWM has laid some aggressive expansion plans on the table, which include several potential new entries in both its Haval and Tank line-up, thanks to its success in Australia.

Australia is GWM’s largest purely export market. At the Beijing motor show, it became clear the models under strong consideration include the Haval H9 seven-seat SUV, potentially the second-generation Big Dog hybrid soft-roader, as well as the Tank 400 and Tank 700 rugged off-road hybrid SUVs. However, there are still limits to the brand’s ambitions, as CarsGuide has come to understand. Below are rest of the models which might not make it Down Under.

Haval H5

Speaking to Australian media at a preview event prior to the Beijing motor show, the brand’s local Head of Communications Steve Maciver explained why we won’t be getting some of the rest of the Haval range. Some models such as the mean-looking off-road-ready H5 wagon would seemingly be immediate hits.

“I think it comes down to complexity, we’ve got very established mid-size SUVs at the moment in that H6 is well established in the market, delivering good volume and the customer feedback is good, so we’re not looking to veer from that too much. Tank 300 we’ve been establishing and working really hard on that for the last few months. That is now finding its feet now as well and getting good feedback, so with both those products you’ve got two really strong mid-sized SUV options, both of which have different feature sets and benefits to offer consumers. Do we need something else in the mix like the H5? The answer is probably not.”

That didn’t stop the brand from treating the Australian contingent to a look at a factory off-road version complete with all-terrain tyres, custom bullbars and roof-rack, and a tidy high-end interior, although the lack of a diesel powertrain, as is popular in contemporary rivals in Australia, is notable.

Haval H3/Cool Dog

The same issues apply to the niche small-to-midsize Havals that sit between the existing but popular Jolion small SUV and H6 mid-sizer. The H3 has a retro off-road design which is popular in Australia right now, but would add a lot of complexity to a range that already serves buyers looking for both off-roaders and hybrid SUVs.

Ora Sport

The Ora Sport (also known as the Ora 07 in other markets) could be the most likely of any addition on this list as GWM looks to increase its competitiveness in the EV space, especially in light of the new vehicle emissions standards.

Maciver said the brand will definitely need to expand its plug-in offerings, both hybrids and fully electrics, which is why it is more strongly considering the Ora Sport four-door to sit alongside the existing Ora hatch.

The brand went so far as to allow Australian media to sample (a left-hand drive) example locally last year, saying at the time that it expects the four-door coupe would be a circa $60,000 proposition should it be sold locally.

It’s an appealing offering too, with impressive performance (up to 300kW/680Nm) for the all-wheel drive version and a claimed 555km range (although this is to the more lenient NEDC testing cycle).

Ora Ballet Cat

The existing GWM Ora (known as the Ora Good Cat in other markets) has yet to find its footing in Australia, especially compared to its impressive MG4 and BYD Dolphin rivals, which are sailing up the sales charts with less controversial styling and extremely aggressive pricing strategies.

Responding to this, GWM has dropped the price of the Ora in the hopes it can get the little hatch back on the map for budget-conscious EV buyers, a strategy the local division says is slowly but surely working.

GWM is playing it safe by not over-committing to the Ora brand, stopping short of outright confirming the Ora Sport four-door coupe model (also known as the Ora 07 in Europe), and thus far ruling out the overtly retro-styled Ballet Cat.

Maciver said: “Ballet Cat isn’t on our radar, we just don’t think it’s right for our line-up right now.”

Wey 07

Read our full story on the Wey luxury brand, and why it’s not destined for an Australian launch here, but the 07 upper mid-size seven-seat SUV would be a solid offering for GWM in Oz with its powerful plug-in hybrid drivetrain, impressive tech-heavy interior and Euro-market styling.

Left-hand drive will be the focus for Wey though, at least in the short-term, as GWM puts its most competitive foot forward in Europe, so it may be some time before we see the brand’s most ambitious luxury vehicles in Australia.

Wey 80

The Wey 80 is GWM’s shot at a full luxury people mover. This is a huge market segment in much of Asia, and there are a litany of Chinese carmakers all aiming at emulating the design, style and comfort of something like the Toyota Alphard (which itself is one of Australia’s most popular imports).

Apart from the Wey brand not being on the radar for right-hand drive conversion, this people mover is seen as a particularly low-volume offering, and therefore very distant on the local division’s wish list.

It might seem garish to Australian tastes with its enormous chrome grille it was one of the most luxurious vehicles seen at the pre-show drive event held by GWM at its Baoding home, and has some crazy features like “dual-suspension zero-gravity seats”, a dual-mode temperature control 12.5-litre refrigerator drawer, active noise cancelling, built-in sunshades for both the second and third-row windows, and something called a ‘plasma air purifier’.