GWM’s local product roll-out led by new Havals and V6 turbodiesel

Great Wall Motors (GWM) South Africa has announced an expansion of its local market product portfolio this year, including the arrival of its much-vaunted turbodiesel V6 engine.

Confirming four new products, the Baoding-based brand also hinted at the possibility of its luxury Souo motorcycle brand being launched locally.

What’s coming?

Haval

Announcing its future plans at the launch of the plug-in hybrid H6 last week, the new product roll-out will mainly be on the Haval side.

Based on a product presentation slide at the event, the unnamed additions will fit in between existing models.

The first arrival will slot-in between the Jolion and H6, and the second between the H6 GT and H7. Finally, the third will filter in above the H7, with the final being an all-new flagship.

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As its stands, the brand only confirmed that two of the new arrivals will be seven-seaters, and that both will be rolled-out between now and 2027.

P-Series

On the P-Series front, the biggest arrival involves the mentioned 3.0-litre turbodiesel V6 engine.

An unexpected announcement at the Shanghai International Motor Show last year, the bent-six oil-burner will supplement the existing 2.4-litre four-cylinder, but only in the P500.

Initially planned for 2027, the V6 will, seemingly, be fast-tracked for South Africa as GWM’s direct powertrain rival for the similarly sized unit in the Ford Ranger and its twin, the Volkswagen Amarok.

“The performance of this engine will be will be even better, with better fuel economy and also lower emissions,” GWM Chairman Jack Wei told carsales.com.au at the Shanghai showpiece.

At present, no details about power or torque figures are known. However, speculation is it could have more or similar outputs to the 184kW/600Nm made by the Ranger and Amarok.

Surprisingly, nothing was said about the plug-in hybrid the brand approved for introduction last year.

With the roll-out of the facelift P300 as replacement for the P-Series now complete, no further changes are expected.

Tank

On the Tank side, the 300 will gain a plug-in hybrid under the Hi-4 banner that officially debuted locally with the H6 PHEV.

Based on Australian media, where sales are expected to start next month, the Hi-4T combines a 37.1-kWh battery pack with the existing 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine.

The result is a combined 300kW/750Nm compared to the 162kW/380Nm made by the normal 2.0-litre unit and the self-charging hybrid HEV’s 255kW/648Nm.

According to drive.com.au, the setup allows for an electric-only range of 115kW and a combined of 955km with the inclusion of the combustion engine.

Supporting DC charging up to 50kW will require a waiting time of 24 minutes from 30-80%.

Down Under, the Tank 300 Hi-4T has already been priced at $59 990, which amounts to R709 345 when directly converted and without taxes.

For South Africa, though, the Hi-4T is expected to breach R1 million as the current flagship, the HEV Ultra Luxury, carries a sticker of R929 950.

The Tank brand’s concluding arrival will be the long overdue turbodiesel option for the Tank 500.

Instead of the 2.4-litre unit that debuted in Thailand last year, the South African-spec oil-burner will be the same V6 set to premiere in the P500.

Entirely ruled out is the 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6 petrol engine used in the China, as is, seemingly, other Tank models such as the 400 and 700.

At the same time, details about the 4.0-litre twin-turbo plug-hybrid V8 shown in Shanghai last year, wasn’t made public either.

Ora

Finally, the lacklustre Ora division will be relaunched, no longer as a dedicated electric brand only.

This follows the submission of details to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology office in February, which confirms the Ora Good Cat as being offered with a hybrid powertrain.

Known locally as the Ora 03, the facelift brings an HEV powerplant consisting of a 1.5 litre turbocharged petrol engine and an electric motor plus battery pack.

In the HEV, the setup makes a reported 115kW, while in the equally new, conventional combustion engine model, the unit makes 135kW.

Souo

On the two-wheel side, Souo’s local market investigation will see the arrival of the S2000 should approval be given.

Also shown in Shanghai last year as part of the brand’s premiere, the S2000 uses a 2.0-litre flat-eight Boxer engine outputting 115kW/190Nm.

Paired to an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox, the ultra-luxury S2000 has a reported top speed over 200km/h, and is priced from 218 800 to 238 800 yuan in China.

Directly converted and without taxes, this amounts to between R539 751 and R589 088.

More in due course

Expect more details about GWM’s plans to emerge throughout the course of the year.

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