GWM September sales slide 14 per cent globally even as Australian arm hits record standings

Steepest global decline of the year

GWM sold 114,944 vehicles worldwide in September 2026, a 13.99 per cent year-on-year fall that was nonetheless 1.37 per cent higher than August, CnEVPost reported from company figures. The decline was the Chinese automaker's steepest of the year so far and its largest since January 2025, partly reflecting a high comparison base: GWM sold 133,639 vehicles in September 2025. ⁵

The soft month pushed GWM's cumulative sales for the first nine months of 2026 into decline. The company sold 920,302 vehicles from January to September, down 0.33 per cent year on year, after remaining 1.98 per cent ahead at the end of August, CnEVPost reported. ⁵

CnEVPost's analysis is that gains overseas failed to offset a deepening slump at home. GWM is one of China's largest SUV and pickup makers and a major exporter, selling under five brands: Haval, Ora, Wey, Tank and Poer pickups, according to the publication's brand overview. ⁵⁴

Domestic slump deepens, overseas growth slows but still grows

Domestic sales are the weak point. CnEVPost's figures imply GWM sold 54,925 vehicles in China in September, down about 34 per cent year on year — an eleventh consecutive month of contraction — though domestic sales rose about 8 per cent from August. ⁵

Overseas remained the main support. GWM sold 60,019 vehicles outside China in September, up 19.40 per cent year on year and accounting for 52.22 per cent of the month's total, though CnEVPost noted this was the brand's slowest overseas growth this year and a 4.00 per cent fall from August's record 62,517 units. Overseas sales for the first nine months reached 475,977 vehicles, up 42.43 per cent. ⁵

GWM's own global news site carries the September headline 'GWM Overseas Sales Surge 19.40% in September', dated 14 October 2026, framing the same overseas result the company reports to investors. ¹

GWM's pickup division reported 15,020 global sales in September, up 16.4 per cent year on year and 22.2 per cent month on month, Gasgoo reported, with cumulative global sales of 135,826 units for the first nine months. Overseas pickup deliveries surged 62 per cent year on year to 8809 units. ²

Brand-by-brand: Ora the outlier, Tank and Wey struggle

Most GWM brands declined in September, CnEVPost's company-report-based figures show. Core SUV brand Haval sold 66,558 vehicles, down 18.76 per cent year on year, with nine-month sales of 515,080 shifting from growth to a 2.54 per cent decline. ⁵

Off-road brand Tank fell 29.21 per cent year on year and 14.43 per cent from August to 15,178 vehicles, with nine-month sales down 13.53 per cent to 142,796. Premium brand Wey sold 6976 vehicles, down 36.73 per cent in its fourth consecutive monthly decline, though nine-month sales were still up 4.70 per cent at 66,582, CnEVPost reported. ⁵

Ora was the standout. The EV brand sold 11,202 vehicles in September, up 79.09 per cent year on year in its sixth consecutive month of growth, and its nine-month total of 59,429 vehicles — a doubling year on year — already exceeds its full-year 2025 total of 48,289, CnEVPost reported. CnEVPost has separately reported that Ora is broadening the brand with the Ora 5 GT and Sport, offering battery-electric, hybrid and gasoline powertrains with limited-time China prices starting at 71,800 yuan, in the Chinese market. ⁵⁴

New energy vehicles across the group numbered 41,982 in September, down 8.66 per cent year on year but up 3.15 per cent from August, at a record 36.52 per cent of total sales. Nine-month NEV sales fell 5.92 per cent to 261,967 vehicles, per CnEVPost's figures. ⁵

Australia defies the trend with sixth-place finish

GWM's Australian operation moved the other way. The brand recorded 5212 new vehicle sales in September, up 5.4 per cent year on year, matching its highest monthly market ranking of sixth and taking a 5.1 per cent share of the monthly market, Autotalk reported from VFACTS data. Year-to-date sales of 44,959 vehicles were up 14.3 per cent despite the wider market being slightly lower. ³

The wider market context underscores the result. Marketing-interactive, reporting the same VFACTS figures, noted Chinese-built vehicles accounted for 35.5 per cent of all new vehicles sold in Australia in September, ahead of Japan at 22.5 per cent and South Korea at 9.6 per cent, while GWM's market share grew from 4.3 to 4.9 per cent year to date. ⁶

Electrified models drove much of the local performance. GWM's hybrid sales rose 26 per cent year on year for fourth place in that segment, plug-in hybrid sales rose 109 per cent for fifth and a 9.2 per cent share, and battery electric vehicle sales increased 542 per cent on a record 609 deliveries of the Ora 5 SUV, Autotalk reported. That gave GWM a 3 per cent BEV share and placed it among Australia's 10 leading BEV brands for the first time. ³

GWM Australia and New Zealand chief operating officer John Kett told Autotalk the September result provides strong momentum heading into the final quarter, and reiterated the company's stated goals of exceeding 60,000 Australian sales this year and becoming a top-five brand here by the end of 2027. Kett's comments, as quoted by Autotalk, said: "We have not wavered from our Drive to Top 5 ambition." ³

Local line-up expansion incoming

GWM will expand its Australian electrified range with the Haval H7 and the Cannon Hi4-T plug-in hybrid ute, Autotalk reported. The H7 will be offered with hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains, with customer test drives beginning in mid-October and deliveries of the Hi4 version starting in November, according to Autotalk's report of the company's announcement. ³

The Cannon Hi4-T combines a plug-in hybrid powertrain with mechanical four-wheel drive and a 3500kg braked towing capacity, Autotalk reported. It joins the larger Cannon Alpha Hi4-T PHEV, while recently introduced 3.0-litre turbo-diesel versions of the Cannon Alpha and Tank 500 broaden the company's combustion-powered range in Australia. ³

The contrast is instructive for Australian buyers watching the brand: while GWM's Chinese domestic market contracted about 34 per cent in September, its local arm is expanding its powertrain spread across hybrid, plug-in hybrid, battery electric, petrol and diesel, with the company expecting further growth as additional electric Ora models join the Australian line-up, Autotalk reported. ³