First drive of Haval’s prototype $40K EV family SUV: Meet the budget buy needed to rival MG’s S5 and BYD’s Atto 3

May 26, 2025May 25, 2025 Iain Curry 8290 Views 0 Comments cheap EV, haval electric, haval ev

Is Haval soon to reveal a full electric small/medium SUV ready to challenge Chinese EV cheapies like the BYD Atto 3, Geely EX5, MG S5 EV and Chery Omoda E5?

On our recent Shanghai visit, GWM teased this cheeky powder blue number with “Haval New SUV” plates. The brand was keen for journalists to explore this pre-production model, and have short test drives around a Chinese car park.

That typically means a production version is around the corner.

There’s clear need for a budget family-sized EV in GWM’s Australian line-up. With the introduction of stricter NVES emissions regulations, battery electric cars are all-important for a manufacturer which is now entrenching itself among the top 10 best-selling brands with ambitions to climb much higher.

In Australia GWM boasts plug-in hybrid versions of its Cannon Alpha ute and Haval H6 SUV, but its sole full EV is the slow-selling Ora. More is needed, and soon.

Our minders from GWM wouldn’t share much information on this mystery EV, but its body and cabin look near-identical to the Chinese market Xialong plug-in hybrid (PHEV).

Haval's prototype small/medium electric SUV, Shanghai 2025 — Haval’s prototype small/medium electric SUV, Shanghai 2025.

That PHEV is 4600mm long and with 2710mm wheelbase. For reference, a Toyota RAV4 is the same length but with 20mm shorter wheelbase.

Haval’s current Jolion small SUV is 4472mm/2700mm, and larger H6 is 4653mm/2738mm, so this new EV would slip between these Aussie-sold SUVs.

In the metal, this pre-production EV doesn’t appear quite as large as a RAV4, but looks and feels a good chunk bigger than a Haval Jolion. Basically, the size many Aussies want.

Should such an EV SUV land here, reckon on a circa $40k price tag to challenge the $40,490 drive-away new MG S5 EV, $39,990 BYD Atto 3, $40,990 Geely EX5 and $42,990 Chery Omoda E5.

It’s a generic Haval design, but by no means unattractive… it’s plainness personified, but many shoppers will no doubt be fine with this.

It’s the same story inside, where our pre-production test car featured white faux leather seats (pleasingly spongy), digital driver display, widescreen infotainment, wireless phone charging, panoramic sunroof and a 360-degree camera.

As we’ve previously witnessed, GWM loads its vehicles with goodies as standard at a competitive price, so even a high-spec offering like this would likely land for under $45k.

As a pre-prod vehicle we’ll forgive it some of its less than perfect finishes, but there’s the usual Haval basket of hard plastics when you dig deeper through the cabin.

Positively, as a family car it passes muster.

The rear seats offer decent space, there’s a sole rear vent and it’s a light cabin back here thanks to the glass roof. The boot’s also fine, although restricted due to the electric gubbins and charge cables underneath.

No full-size spare back here, as you’ll find in the Chery Omodo E5 electric SUV.

We were offered a one-minute drive around a Chinese car park, where little could be learned.

The drive felt absolutely as expected. Short of any joy, thrills or involvement, but the single front electric motor offered healthy shove and the steering had a bit of life to it.

Nothing official to report on kW, Nm, battery size, charge speeds, range or economy,(hence no specs below) but you can well imagine it’d all be decidedly average.

Which is exactly where Haval sits in the market, and why tens of thousands of its combustion cars have sold in recent years – keep it quite no-nonsense, fill the car with desirable equipment and supply a compelling warranty: seven years/unlimited kilometres in Haval’s case in Australia.

GWM’s promised more new models to our market in the short term, and you fancy this EV would be a much-needed first full electric for its line-up. It could be with us as soon as 2026, as GWM has promised about seven new arrivals locally without telling us what most fo them are..

It’d enter a segment busy with the aforementioned Chinese rivals, plus pricier legacy brand EVs such as Kia’s EV3 and EV5, Renault’s Megane E-Tech and Hyundai’s Kona Electric.

We’ll report further as and when we hear more about this box-fresh Haval SUV.

Iain Curry

A motoring writer and photographer for two decades, Iain started in print magazines in London as editor of Performance BMW and features writer for BMW Car, GT Porsche and 4Drive magazines. His love of motor sport and high performance petrol cars was rudely interrupted in 2011 when he was one of the first journalists to drive BMW's 1 Series ActiveE EV, and has been testing hybrids, PHEVs and EVs for Australian newspapers ever since. Based near Noosa in Queensland, his weekly newspaper articles cover new vehicle reviews and consumer advice, while his photography is regularly seen on the pages of glossy magazines.