GWM has been surfing the SUV wave in China longer than most. Its Haval H6 for many years challenged the Wuling Hongguang for the title of best selling model and in 2017, the H6 was finally replaced. It finished the year in third place behind SAIC, GM and Wuling’s MPV and SAIC Volkswagen’s Lavida. Could Great Wall’s SUV brand be sinking or will it bounce back?

Haval

The brand which supposedly lets you ‘Have It All’ continues to expand outside China, although its global reach remains fairly limited. That will surely change within a few years as Great Wall starts to follow Geely (Lynk), Guangzhou Auto (GAC brand) and other majors in setting up sales outposts in the USA. It already has a very limited presence in some European markets but hasn’t been very successful so far.

For now, GWM seems to be wanting to continue exploiting the opportunity with SUVs in China, even if Haval and its supposedly premium newer division, Wey, are unable to command anything other than low prices.

In 2017, close to 860,00 Haval SUVs and crossovers were sold, making this a more successful brand than Ford or Hyundai. That also compares favourably to Jeep in its home market (828,522). The American brand trumps Haval worldwide but how long can Jeep stay ahead?

The smallest Haval is the H1. A pre-production version of this small SUV had its world premiere at April 2014’s Beijing motor show, with the production model following four months later at the Chengdu show. The H1 is closely related to the larger H2 crossover.

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The H1 offers the choice of normally aspirated and turbocharged 1.5-litre four cylinder petrol engines. It went on sale in China during November 2014 and is due for a facelift later in 2018. This is needed soon, as sales fell to fewer than 19,000 units in 2017. The second generation H1 should appear in 2021 and it will be on a more modern platform.

The H2, which is a rival for the Honda Vezel/HR-V, is the leader of its segment, with more than 200,000 sold in 2017. It had its global debut at the Shanghai motor show in April 2013. A pre-production model was exhibited at the Beijing show in April 2014. It went on sale in July 2014, launched with a standard 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine.

This model might be the first vehicle for GWM’s first full production plant in Russia. The factory is under construction in Tula: ground was broken in September 2015. The first cars are due to roll off the line later in 2018. Initial volume has been set at 150,000 vehicles/annum.

After the arrival of a refreshed H1, Great Wall will launch a facelifted H2 onto the Chinese market during the second half of 2018. The next H2 is under development and will use the same architecture as the future H1. There will surely be a plug-in H2.

There is no H3 but an H4 will be added to the Haval model line-up later this year. This is to be a range of four 4.4m long crossover variants for China and potentially, other markets, as follows: H4 Red Label, H4 Blue Label, H4S Red Label and H4S Blue Label.

The standard engine will be a turbocharged 1.5-litre petrol four-cylinder unit. A prototype appeared at the Guangzhou motor show in November 2017. The production model should appear in April.

The H5 is the next model in the Haval armada although it is on its last legs now. Fewer than 16,000 were delivered to buyers in China during 2017. It is curious as to why GWM has failed to replace this model, which is more than 13 years old.

This SUV, which originally looked a lot like the Isuzu Axiom, appeared for the first time at the Beijing show in June 2004. Build started in October 2004 and the first exports (to Russia) commenced in May 2005.

Exports to Italy, the first of several European markets where Haval vehicles are sold, started in November 2006. The Hover diesel was announced in China the following month. It originally had a 70kW (95bhp) 2.8-litre common rail engine. The H5 was originally sold in many countries as the Hover H5.

At the Beijing motor show in April 2010, Great Wall changed the name of the vehicle to Haval. It took over from Hover as Great Wall’s SUV and crossover brand (in China). There were then two versions of the Haval H5 – one for the home market (‘GKC Edition’) and another model with less ornate detailing for export.

A joint venture with Litex Motors began SKD assembly of Great Wall vehicles in Bulgaria from February 2012: the Hover H5 was one of the first models.

A facelifted Haval H5 premiered at the Shanghai motor show in April 2013. A second facelift was revealed at April 2015’s Shanghai motor show.

The H5 replacement, which should finally be released during 2018, might be the first model for Great Wall’s forthcoming Indian plant. This is said to be planned for Pune. Some sources believe that the next H1 would instead be the model in question. An electric H5 should be added in 2019 or 2020.

The H6 being GWM’s most popular vehicle is like saying that the F-Series is the best selling Ford: it isn’t just the one model. There are in fact now three SUVs called H6. The first is the old shape model which has stayed in production and has ultra-low pricing, which explains its success.

Great Wall premiered this 4.6m long SUV at the Beijing motor show in April 2010. Production started in August 2011, with the vehicle going on sale in China during the following month. A mildly updated H6 premiered at the Shanghai motor show in April 2013, alongside the H2 and H8.

A second facelift premiered at April 2015’s Shanghai motor show. The H6 was China’s best selling SUV in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Its eventual replacement was announced to the media in February 2017 but the now previous generation H6 continues in production as a cheaper model. Production will likely end in 2019.

What GWM refers to as the New H6 (see image) was revealed to the media in China in February 2017. It not only supplements the original H6 but uses that vehicle’s platform.

Great Wall sells the new H6 in Red Label and Blue Label forms. The second generation model is 40mm shorter but 40mm wider than the original. The market release took place in May 2017. There will be a facelift in 2020 and a third generation H6 in 2024. This one will use a new architecture and there will certainly be an electrified variant.

The third model is the H6 Coupé. Now three years old, this SUV premiered as a concept at the Shanghai motor show in April 2013. It looked similar to a Range Rover Evoque five-door. Another concept, the Haval Coupé C, premiered at April 2014’s Beijing motor show. The production model, launch at April 2015’s Shanghai motor show, is nearly identical to the C concept.

The Coupé, which is just about identical in size to the Mazda CX-5, is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine and the only gearbox is a six-speed DCT. It is priced above the H6. Sales commenced in China in May 2015.

Great Wall Motor caused much confusion at the Guangzhou motor show in November 2017 when it revealed a prototype of new model called Haval H6 Coupé. The company did not explain if this means that the existing model would be axed or instead renamed.

The 4,649mm long M6 is yet another crossover for the Haval brand but the only one to start with an M not an H. It went on sale in China during July 2017. It is a little longer than the H6 with which it shares both a platform and an identical interior. The only engine is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol unit. Sales have not been strong so far. No facelift is expected and there should be a replacement as soon as 2022.

The H7 and H7 L were prototypes which were revealed at the Shanghai motor show in April 2015. The H7 had five seats, while the L had a longer wheelbase and seven seats. A pre-production H7 premiered at November 2015’s Guangzhou motor show. It was said to be 4.7m long. There was no sign of the long wheelbase bodystyle.

The 4,700mm long production version of the H7 had its public debut at the Beijing motor show in April 2016. There should also be an H7 PHEV to come in 2019, timed to coincide with a facelift for the rest of the line-up. The next H7 should then appear in 2023.

Above the H6s, M6 and H7, GWM should soon add an H7 Coupé. This model is expected to have been previewed by the Haval Concept B (painted blue) and Concept R (red) prototypes. These had their world premieres at April 2015’s Shanghai motor show. The H7 Coupé name is speculative. The B and R were sporty-looking five-door crossovers.

The first of two frame platform 4x4s started life as the Hover H7 concept. This big five-door crossover had its world premiere at the Shanghai motor show in April 2009. A revised version, the SC60, appeared at the Beijing show in April 2010, followed by a pre-production model, the Haval H7, at the Beijing show in April 2012. A further evolution, the Haval H8, followed at the Guangzhou motor show in November 2012.

The production H8 had its global debut at November 2013’s Guangzhou motor show but there were two false starts to production commencing fully. The series production H8 finally went on sale in China in March 2015. The standard engine is a 2.0-litre turbo, with a 3.0-litre V6 optional.

This was the first vehicle to be built at Great Wall’s Xushui plant in Hebei.

A facelift is due to appear in the final quarter of 2018, to be followed by the next H8 in 2022. The facelift might well come earlier in fact, as sales fell to fewer than 8,000 vehicles in 2017.

Great Wall developed the H9, a body-on-frame SUV, as a rival for the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado five-door. A prototype was exhibited at the Beijing motor show in April 2014. GWM said the H9 would offer the choice of a 2.0-litre turbocharged direct injection engine and a six-speed automatic transmission, or a 3.0-litre turbocharged direct injection engine in combination with an eight-speed auto. The 3.0-litre engine has maximum power of 245kW and peak torque of 480Nm.

The production model had its world premiere at the Guangzhou motor show in November 2014 and went on sale in China days later. The V6 engine was added in 2016.

The H9 is 4,856mm long, making it Haval’s largest vehicle yet. It is due to have a mid-life styling refresh in mid-2018. A new body on the existing ladder-frame chassis should comprise the second generation H9 in 2021 or 2022.

Wey

The VV3 is to be yet another SUV for Great Wall Motor’s new Wey brand. It is due for release in China during the third or fourth quarters of 2018. It should be positioned in the B segment against the Honda Vezel, Jeep Renegade and others in the B-SUV segment of the market. That also includes the Haval H2 and with Wey pricing meant to be premium but in reality, competing with Haval, many wonder why the brand exists.

GWM stated when launching Wey that it wants to be selling 400,000 vehicles annually by 2020 – an incredible goal for a brand that is still only months old. It might well achieve that target: some 85,000 vehicles were sold in 2017, more than Land Rover and not that far behind Volvo. Granted how many additional models are set to be released this year or next, the quarter million mark might even be surpassed in 2018.

The 4,462mm long VV5 is a C segment SUV and was the second model for Wey. Curiously, the first two vehicles (VV7 and VV5) look extremely similar to Haval SUVs. Powering the VV5 is a 197hp 2.0-litre petrol turbo. CY2017 deliveries amounted to 33,000 units. Not bad for a vehicle which only went into production in August.

The VV5 and VV7 were previewed by concepts called respectively 02 and 01 at the Guangzhou motor show in November 2016. The brand is named after Great Wall founder and chairman Wei Jianjun.

VV6 should be the name of the brand’s third model. It is very similar to the VV5 but at 4,585mm from end to end, will be longer, the extra length being at the rear. The wheelbase will be the same.

The vehicles can be hard to tell apart but the prototype of the VV6 had its exterior mirrors mounted on the edge of the front windows, whereas on the VV5 they are on the doors and there is a piece of black plastic where they are positioned on the VV6.

Engines are the same turbocharged 1.5- and 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol units as in the smaller and cheaper VV5. The VV6 should be on sale in China by mid-year.

The 4,765mm long VV7 is Wey’s largest model, the first for the brand and the best seller (circa 53,000 in 2017). Its debut in production form was at April 2017’s Shanghai auto show. Sales commenced in China from the following month, though at that time, Great Wall was still setting up a dealership network.

The first and second generations of the H6 as well as the VV7 use the same platform. The standard engine is a 2.0-litre petrol turbo.

A PHEV variant of the VV7 appeared as a world debut at the Guangzhou motor show in November 2017. This SUV, the Wey P8, is powered by the combination of a 2.0-litre turbo engine and two motors. The stated combined outputs are 250kW and 520Nm. The standard transmission is a six-speed dual clutch gearbox. Chinese market sales commence later this month.

The proposed VV8 is to be a stretched version of the VV7. Unlike that model, this larger SUV should have seven seats. Lengthwise, it is expected to be around the five-metre mark. Insiders say the VV8 might be a world debut at this year’s AutoChina in Beijing.

Great Wall

The C30 is one of only two vehicles sold in China under the Great Wall brand, many others having been discontinued in recent years. It has been available there since May 2010, powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder gasoline engine.

This B segment model was one of the launch models for the Voleex brand. Due to certain models being less successful than others, Great Wall took the decision to phase out Voleex from May 2012, replacing those cars’ badging with that of Great Wall.

A C30 EV was released in China in October 2016. This car sells in tiny numbers. Combined volume in the home market for the year to the end of November was 10,430, according to GWM’s own data.

The Wingle (‘wing’ and ‘eagle’) is the other Great Wall model. It premiered at the Guangzhou show in July 2006 and went on sale in China the following month. Its maker claims that this pick-up was entirely self-developed. The vehicle closely resembles a long-ago Isuzu D-MAX.

A single cab bodystyle joined the original double cab variants in 2007. A 70kW 2.8-litre diesel engine also debuted in China in January 2007.

Great Wall started exports to Russia in 2006 and to Italy and Romania in 2007. The brand was launched in Australia in July 2009, with a V240-badged version of the Wingle double-cab one of the first models to go on sale there. In Italy, the model is known as the Steed, with the updated and Euro 5-compliant model having changed names to Steed 5 (it is powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel).

In September 2009, the Wingle was one of four Great Wall models to be granted Whole Vehicle Type Approval (WTVA) by an EU member state so sales of this model in the region could then commence. The Steed was part of Great Wall’s brand launch in the UK in March 2012.

At the Beijing motor show in April 2010, Great Wall revealed plans to make Wingle an LCV brand. Four months later, Great Wall stated that it had begun production of the Euro 5-compliant 2.0-litre diesel engine at its Baoding powertrain plant. GWM says it has the capacity to build 140,000 such engines a year.

In January 2011, Great Wall revealed plans for small scale assembly of the Wingle at a plant in the Philippines.

SKD assembly of the Wingle/Steed at Great Wall’s Bulgarian plant commenced in late 2012.

In January 2013, Great Wall noted a future model, the Wingle 6, would be launched later in the year. It premiered in pre-production form at April 2013’s Shanghai motor show. The production model then debuted at April 2014’s Beijing motor show. The Wingle 6 turned out to be a facelifted Wingle 5/Steed 5. It went on sale in China during May 2014.

The Wingle replacement, which is due later this year, may become the sole model for the Great Wall brand. More likely, it will shift over to Haval.

ORA

Great Wall is said to be planning to add an electric vehicles brand from later in 2018. Prototypes of a 4.5m long crossover have been seen with ‘ORA’ in large letters on the tailgate. The brand will be ‘Oula’ in Chinese. The first model is expected to be revealed at the Beijing motor show in April, with its name said to be iQ5. Multiple other vehicles will inevitably follow.

Future model plan reports for other manufacturers can be viewed in the OEM product strategy summaries section of just-auto.com.

Future product program intelligence

Additional data on vehicle lifetime and future product plans, such as code names, production plants and expected annual build, are available in PLDB from QUBE.

The next manufacturer to have its divisions’ current and future passenger vehicles looked at will be Fiat Chrysler.

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