GWM's right-hand-drive product onslaught will include V8 power, luxury SUVs

GWM Australia will launch eight new products by mid-2027, tapping into a product onslaught in South Africa, where the Chinese automaker is planning 14 new product launches over the next 18 months, alongside V8 and diesel-hybrid technology.

Like Australia and the UK, South Africa is a right-hand-drive market, meaning models offered there can also be candidates for Australian showrooms.

Both GWM Australia and GWM South Africa (SA) are targeting a top-five sales ranking, sitting seventh and sixth year-to-date in their respective markets.

Speaking to the Cars.co.za podcast, GWM SA chief operating officer Conrad Groenewald said the Chinese company’s global expansion presented more opportunities for right-hand-drive models.

“We had the group CEO of GWM in South Africa beginning of this year to do a market assessment,” Mr Groenewald told the podcast earlier this month.

“He made a call to say everything that you see in China that historically used to be left-hand drive and only for domestic market consumption is now being opened up for the rest of the world.”

This includes 14 product launches in the next 18 months across GWM’s brands in South Africa, including models from the Wey brand which is also set for launch in Australia before the end of 2026.

It also comes as GWM has held discussions with Mercedes-Benz over a potential manufacturing collaboration in South Africa, with Mr Groenewald explaining the company lost its bid to buy the former Nissan plant in Rosslyn, Pretoria.

If GWM establishes production in South Africa, it could potentially open up another right-hand-drive supply source for Australian showrooms, as well as broaden the number of models available.

So far, GWM models sold in Australia have been sourced from China and Thailand, with the previous Ora electric hatch sourced from the former General Motors plant in Rayong, where the Holden Colorado ute was previously produced.

The GWM SA COO also said he’s pushing for GWM South Africa to launch its first V8 model, using a newly developed 4.0-litre V8 engine, before the end of 2027.

It’s the same timing confirmed for the V8’s arrival in Australia. The Tank 700, which has been confirmed by GWM chairman Jack Wei to receive a V8 in the future, has already been locked in for South Africa alongside the smaller Tank 400. Neither vehicle has been locked in for Australia as yet.

The Tank 800, meanwhile, remains under consideration for South Africa yet has been confirmed for Australia, and is scheduled to arrive here in 2027.

The Tank 700 and 800 sit above the Tank 500 currently sold in Australia in terms of size and price, with the Tank 700 already in production in China and the Tank 800 yet to be revealed.

GWM has developed two V8 engine iterations, with a ‘normal’ version set for the Tank 700 and potentially other large models, and a separate high-performance V8 for its upcoming supercar. The company is set to use both of these engines with plug-in hybrid (PHEV) systems.

Teased at the Beijing show earlier this year, the supercar is yet to be unveiled and could make it to Australia, although it has not been officially announced as part of the future local lineup.

GWM Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) chief operating officer John Kett previously told CarExpert the V8 will be offered in Australia sometime in 2027, most likely in a Tank model, but hasn't shared further details.

Speaking to CarExpert at the Everything Electric show in Sydney last week, Mr Kett explained Tank will be one of a raft of new model arrivals as the brand chases a top-five sales ranking.

“We’ve got about eight new products to launch before the middle of next year, and as we get into the last quarter, I think that’s when we’ll see the next phase of our Tank portfolio,” Mr Kett said.

“It’s so hard to get in the top 10. That next step … you do need a broader portfolio; you can’t concentrate on two or three cars.”

Mazda is currently the fifth-best-selling brand in Australia year-to-date with 53,163 sales to the end of August 2026, an average of 6645 per month.

GWM has sold 39,747 so far this year to sit seventh, the same rank it finished with after record sales in 2025.

“I think we'll close this year at 62 [thousand sales this year],” the GWM Australia COO said.

“Last year we did 52, and you’ve got to be 75, so I think next year, as our ambition, we want to try ... we may end up at 70, which means we're a little bit short of 75.”

“So ‘drive to top five’, our ambition is to get as close to it as we can by 2027. If not, [at least] have the run rates by the end of 2027. That says by 2028 we're onto our next task, which is ‘drive to top three’.”

At the Everything Electric show, GWM revealed the new-generation Haval H7, a Toyota RAV4-sized SUV offered in four model grades, with a choice of hybrid and PHEV powertrains and a base price under $50,000.

“The H7, because of the way it will be positioned above H6, will open up the door for us to bring in Jolion and Jolion Max later this year.

“We'll probably end up launching it early next year, but we might have it in dealerships over Christmas for just test drives,” Mr Kett said.

While the Jolion will use carryover petrol engines, the Jolion Max will be a new model for Australia sitting between the Haval Jolion and Haval H6, and will be introduced with PHEV and battery-electric powertrain choices.

Also on the electric vehicle (EV) front, GWM Australia has confirmed the Ora 5 Touring to sit alongside the current Ora 5 SUV, with further Ora 5 derivatives also under consideration.

“We’re ranked number eight in that segment, and we don’t have an EV, and that’s 20 per cent of the market, right? So Jolion Max and Ora Touring will be great for that,” Mr Kett said.

It also showed the Cannon PHEV dual-cab ute, a direct rival to the BYD Shark 6 and Ford Ranger PHEV, with a $47,990 drive-away introductory price for eligible ABN buyers, replacing the JAC Hunter PHEV as the cheapest PHEV ute on sale in Australia.

“In the middle of that is some transition around our powertrains. We know what we need to be competitive in terms of ‘Can we get a little bit more out of diesel? What can we put into our body-on-frame vehicles? Plug-in, hybrid, plug-in hybrid diesel,” the GWM ANZ COO explained.

Both Mr Kett and his South African equivalent said GWM is investing heavily in diesel-hybrid technology, which could end up in its Cannon and Cannon Alpha utes to rival the upcoming Chery Stockman diesel PHEV.

GWM has also launched a new-generation 3.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine for the Cannon Alpha and Tank 500 SUV in Australia.

On top of this is the Wey luxury brand, a rival to BYD’s Denza and MG’s IM Motors, which is set for a soft launch in Australia this year and could bring up to three models.

This includes the Wey G9 hybrid and PHEV people mover, which is already manufactured in right-hand drive in Malaysia, as well as the Wey Blue Mountain – known as the ‘Lanshan’ in China – PHEV SUV.

Two newer Wey SUVs are on the cards, too, with the Wey V8X electric SUV and V9X PHEV both potential additions to local showrooms.

Wey's New Zealand launch has been confirmed for early 2027 with two yet-to-be-named models.

MORE: Explore the GWM showroom