GWM plans five-model medium SUV range in Australia as Haval H7 reaches dealerships

H7 arrivals anchor a five-model medium SUV plan

GWM will expand its Australian medium SUV portfolio to five models as it targets a top-five position in the new-vehicle market by the end of 2027, AutoTalk Australia reports. The strategy is led by the all-new Haval H7, which has begun arriving at dealerships across Australia and joins the established Haval H6 and H6GT. ¹⁴

GWM Australia chief operating officer John Kett told AutoTalk that electrification is becoming increasingly important in the family-focused medium SUV segment, and confirmed two further entries will follow the H7. "Recognising this opportunity, GWM will also release not one but two more new medium SUV entries following the launch of the H7," Kett said. ¹

CarSauce, reporting the dealership arrivals on October 27, 2026, similarly confirms the Jolion Max and a separate battery-electric SUV will join the H7, H6 and H6GT, with the two additional models due in early 2027. The publication notes the H7's arrival follows its first Australian shipments and that GWM expects demand for the new model to support sales volumes comparable with the H6. ⁴

Jolion Max and unnamed BEV confirmed for early 2027

The first of the two additions is the Jolion Max, which Kett said will land in early 2027 with battery-electric and Hi4 plug-in hybrid powertrains. "First is the Jolion Max, which will land in early 2027 with BEV and Hi4 PHEV powertrains," Kett said, according to AutoTalk. ¹⁴

The second is a battery-electric medium SUV that Kett said will be revealed during the fourth quarter of 2026, ready for a first-quarter 2027 launch. "Further to that, a new BEV-powered medium SUV product will be revealed during Q4 2026, ready for a Q1 2027 launch. Our sales ambition in this key segment will certainly be backed up by a strong portfolio plan," Kett told AutoTalk. The model's name and specifications have not yet been announced. ¹⁴

Once complete, the expanded range will span petrol, conventional hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery-electric powertrains across several models, body styles and price points, according to AutoTalk. CarSauce frames the expansion as giving GWM all four electrification levels across its medium SUV line-up, and positions the H7, which features GWM's Hi4 technology, as central to the brand's ambition to reach the top three brands in Australia's medium SUV segment. ¹⁴

The sales gap GWM is targeting

According to VFACTS figures cited by GWM, average sales of about 2300 medium SUVs per month would be sufficient to achieve a top-three position in the segment, AutoTalk reports. GWM's H6, H6GT and outgoing H7 generated combined average sales of about 1300 units per month during 2026, leaving a gap of roughly 1000 vehicles a month between the brand's current average and that benchmark — a shortfall GWM expects the new H7 and upcoming models to help close. ¹⁴

Nationally, GWM sold 44,959 new vehicles in Australia during the year to date, placing it seventh overall, with sales up 14.3 per cent compared with the corresponding period last year and top-six monthly finishes recorded in August and September, AutoTalk reports. GWM says it remains on track to surpass 60,000 Australian sales for another record year. ¹⁴

Broader ANZ expansion context

The medium SUV push sits within a wider ANZ product offensive. In a July 2026 announcement, GWM Australia and New Zealand said it plans to launch up to eight new models in New Zealand over six months, underpinning its ambition to reach a top-five position by the end of 2027 and a top-three position in the New Zealand market by 2030. Managing Director Andrew Gao described the ANZ region as one of GWM Group's top three strategic international markets. ²³

The same announcement flagged the Haval H7 as launching first among three distinct mid-size SUV nameplates GWM will field from Q4 2026, with a choice of hybrid and Hi4 plug-in hybrid powertrains and flagship variants equipped with front and rear differential locks, alongside the Jolion Max in Hi4 plug-in hybrid and battery-electric variants. It also confirmed the Cannon Hi4-T plug-in hybrid ute and a new 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine for the Cannon Alpha and Tank 500, with ANZ selected as the lead global markets for that powertrain. ²³

In a wide-ranging interview with CarExpert, Kett said GWM's local engineering program, including a new technical centre in Melbourne, is feeding ride, handling and steering refinements back into global products, and that the brand aims to be competitive across every powertrain — petrol, diesel, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric — as part of its top-five and ultimately top-three ambitions. ⁵

Overseas H7 context

The H7 is also a global model, though overseas specifications and pricing do not establish Australian details. At GWM's Tech Day in Milan on October 27, 2026, Italian publication Automoto.it reported the H7 is available in Italy from October 2026 in four configurations — 2.0-litre turbo petrol all-wheel drive, Hybrid Hi2, Plug-in Hi2 and Plug-in Hi4 — with a promotional starting price of 29,990 euros with trade-in or scrappage and road costs excluded for the front-drive full-hybrid version. Automoto.it says the Plug-in Hi4 version is claimed at 435hp, 670Nm, 0-100km/h in 4.9 seconds, 129km of electric range and 2.2l/100km on the WLTP cycle. ⁶

Automoto.it also reports the H7, at 4.68 metres long, was calibrated on European roads — including testing on German autobahns, the Stelvio and the Grossglockner — with a validation program GWM claims covers 22 prototype cars, 8000km in the desert, snow testing at minus 40 degrees Celsius, 50-degree cooling trials and up to 720 hours of salt-fog corrosion exposure. These European development and pricing details apply to the Italian market and should not be read as Australian specifications, which GWM has not detailed in the sourced material. ⁶