GWM electrified SUV lands in Australia, boasting longest EV-only range for plug in hybrid

In November last year, GWM, one of Australia’s fastest-growing carmakers, announced that it would launch its first PHEV into the Australian market with the longest EV-only range.

Now, the company has officially launched the high-powered tri-motor Haval H6GT plug-in hybrid SUV with a claimed 180 km of electric only range.

At an event held at Dolton House in Sydney, the H6GT was revealed along with pricing details of its only variant at $53,990 driveway.

This is quite well priced given the high-powered drivetrain, which delivers a whopping 342 kW and 762 Nm of torque.

For comparison, the BYD Sealion 6, which arrived in the first half of 2024, offers a dual-motor in the top-spec Premium variant, delivering 238 kW and 550 Nm of torque.

With the large battery tech underneath, this tri-motor SUV will be offering the longest electric-only range of any PHEV thanks to a 35.4 kWh battery that can deliver a class-leading EV-only range of up to 180 km. 

That’s nearly double what’s offered on the Sealion 6, which has an EV-only range of 92 km.

Charging the H6GT, it offers 6.6 kW of AC charging as well as the fastest DC charging speeds of up to 48 kW, helping the car’s battery charge from 30-80% in just 26 minutes.

Vehicle to load (V2L) is also available, making it possible to charge other equipment when parked camping or just powering a laptop.

The H6GT has three electric motors, two on each front and one on the rear axle, providing an integrated 4WD system. 

This car’s rear motor can output up to 135 kW and 232 Nm of torque on its own and, combined with the rest of the powertrain, can deliver up to 342 kW, which would help accelerate the car from 0-100 km/h in 4.9 seconds. That’s quite quick for a 5-seater family SUV and outpaces its major competitors.

We got a chance to test this acceleration at Sydney Motorsport Park this week and in its EV-only mode, it performed remarkably well in both acceleration and deceleration testing.

Around corners, the H6GT just grips the road with minimal body-roll which was quite surprising for a car this size and the typical behaviour of similar vehicles in its class.

Given its PHEV powertrain, the large battery pack can also be charged by a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, providing a combined range of 1,000 km.

GWM will offer up to a 7-year unlimited km warranty on this SUV, giving potential buyers peace of mind over the duration of the ownership.

The H6GT is offered in five colours including Hamilton White, Atlantis Blue, Crayon Grey, Burgundy Red and Golden Black. Aside from Hamilton White, all other paints carry a $495 premium, which is fairly reasonable for metallic paints.

At the launch of this car, GWM was very clear about how significant this and future electrified and electric-only models are for the brand as it aims to crack the top-8 best-selling brands in the country after finding itself in the top-10 brands in 2024 by selling over 42,000 cars.

After getting a glimpse of the EV-only mode of the H6GT at Sydney Motorsport Park, we look forward to seeing what it’d be like to live with, given its large battery for a PHEV.