Haval H7 set for major shake-up in SA
Great Wall Motors is preparing to replace its South African mid-size SUV with a larger model based on a vehicle sold in China, marking a major change for the Haval brand.
In a surprise announcement at the Kyalami Festival of Motoring this past weekend, Great Wall Motors (GWM) confirmed that the current Haval H7 will be replaced by an entirely different model wearing the same nameplate in the fourth quarter of this year, reports The Citizen.
The move will end the Big Dog-based H7 after less than two years on the South African market. Its replacement will be based on the Raptor Menglong Plus, which made its debut in China in April.
Essentially a revised version of the standard Raptor sold in China since 2023, the South African model is expected to carry the H7 Plus name, although GWM did not confirm this at the Kyalami event.
GWM approved the newcomer for South Africa in May, although it was not initially intended as a replacement for the current H7. In China, it is offered with either five or seven seats, with the final specification for South Africa yet to be confirmed.
Dimensions
Sharing its exterior design with the larger H9, dimensional details based on the Chinese domestic market Menglong Plus are as follows:
- Length: 4 912mm
- Wheelbase: 2 850mm
- Height: 1 905mm
- Width: 1 950mm
By comparison, the current Big Dog-based H7 is 207mm shorter, 125mm lower and 44mm narrower, with a wheelbase that is 40mm shorter.
Plug-in hybrid
While no further details were provided apart from its arrival timeline, the vehicle featured prominent Hi4 badging on its hinged tailgate.
As in China, the badge denotes GWM’s four-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid system, which combines a 1.5l turbocharged petrol engine with three battery pack options and two electric motors.
While the combustion engine develops 115kW/243N.m on its own, the entry-level 23.7-kWh battery powers a 70kW/160N.m motor on the front axle and a 150kW/320N.m unit at the rear for a combined output of 280kW/750N.m.
Paired with a two-speed Dedicated Hybrid Transmission, the model, called the 140 in China, has a claimed all-electric range of 140km based on the CLTC scale.
Moving up to the 195 brings a 33.7-kWh battery which, in combination with the same combustion engine and electric motors, develops 320kW/750N.m.
Hooked to the same DHT, the 195 has a claimed all-electric range of 195km, which falls to 192km when the seven-seat layout is selected.
Finally, the 255 variant gains a 44.7-kWh battery pack for a combined output of 330kW/660Nm, with a CLTC range of 255km, or 252km for the seven-seater.
Across all variants, GWM has limited top speed to 190km/h, with 0–100km/h sprint times of 6.2 seconds for the 140, six seconds for the 195 and 5.8 seconds for the 255.
For the seven-seat 192 and 252 models, benchmark sprint times take one-tenth of a second longer.
Local availability and pricing
GWM South Africa is yet to confirm final local specifications or whether the new H7 will offer five or seven seats.
Final pricing will only be announced either shortly before or at the H7’s launch in the final quarter of the year.
Pricing for the current Big Dog-derived model starts at R604 950 and goes up to R734 950.
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