Guangzhou show: Great Wall plugs in

GREAT Wall Motors’ first production plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) might be a sign of things to come in Australia, if Haval Motors Australia gets its wish.

Unveiled at the Guangzhou motor show in China this week after being revealed in concept form at the Frankfurt motor show in September, the new large SUV is set to be marketed as the P8 under Great Wall’s China-only Wey sub-brand.

However, Great Wall’s other sub-brand, Haval, would love to see a similar petrol-electric vehicle in its Australian showrooms at some point.

Haval Australia public relations and product specialist Andrew Ellis told GoAuto that the local branch of Haval “definitely” would like such a PHEV vehicle should one become available in right-hand drive.

He said that because Wey – named after Great Wall and Haval owner and chairman Jack Wey – was to remain a Chinese domestic sub-brand at this stage, the only way the P8 or its technology could come to Australia was under Haval badges, but there were no immediate plans for that.

Set to be rolled out across China in the first quarter of 2018, the P8 combines a 2.0-litre petrol engine with electric motors on each axle, delivering a combined 250kW of power and 520Nm of toque to all four wheels via a six-speed dual-clutch transmission.

The P8 is claimed to deliver a combined fuel consumption figure of 2.3 litres per 100km and can accelerate from zero to 100km/h in 6.5 seconds.

A 220-volt home charger can fully charge the batteries in four hours, although the company has not disclosed the battery capacity.

Safety features include autonomous emergency braking, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, lane-change assist, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, 360-degree camera and a streaming rearview mirror.

Unveiling the vehicle in Guangzhou, Mr Wey said the imminent launch of the P8 represented a milestone in his journey to put luxury vehicles within reach of all consumers.

He also said the company was well on the way to becoming a leader in autonomous vehicles.

Also at Guangzhou, Haval unveiled a new mid-sized SUV, the H4, to slot between the small H2 and mid-sized H6, in the Chinese market at least.

The H4 is powered by a choice of two turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engines – a 1.3-litre and 1.5 litre – mated with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Mr Ellis said Haval had no plans to export the H4 to Australia.

Here, Haval Australia is preparing for a January launch for a revised version of its H9 flagship that gets a new ZF eight-speed transmission, more power and torque, re-tuned suspension and other improvements.

Haval also has its all-new H7 large SUV in the pipeline for launch in 2018. The 2.0-litre turbo seven-seater is seen as a rival for mainstream large SUVs such as the Toyota Kluger, Mazda CX-9, Kia Sorrento and Hyundai Santa Fe, among others.