Head for the Blue Mountains! GWM Haval Aussie three-row SUV solution emerges
The increasingly popular Chinese SUV brand Haval is close to confirming a new range-topping three-row plug-in hybrid wagon for its Australian line-up.
But there’s a twist, as it looks likely to borrow a model called the Blue Mountain from a sister GWM (Great Wall Motors) brand.
Wey is the only GWM brand not sold in Australia, meaning Haval can raid its line-up to bolster its local line-up.
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The other members of the GWM family already sold in Australia are Tank (4×4), Cannon (ute) and Ora (electric).
Tank already has a seven-seat SUV in Australia, the 500, but that is more off-road hard-core than the Blue Mountain, which will line up against the likes of the Toyota Kluger Hybrid and Hyundai Santa Fe.
While not a chance to be one of eight new models GWM will launch in Australia in 2025, it appears very likely to be one of at least seven it will add in 2026.
GWM’s group sales in Australia are up 14 percent in 2025 as it aims to become a top five sales player in Australia. It sits at number seven currently.
The Blue Mountain would sit above the new-generation mid-size H6 and H7 five-seat SUVs in the local Haval line-up, both of which launch in Australia within months.
“The Wey Blue Mountain is not confirmed for Australia yet but if you look at the Haval SUV line-up that we have got right now, the new H6 when it comes out will be the newest and biggest in that segment and there may be an opportunity for us to add something bigger in maybe a six- or seven-seat configuration above that,” GWM Australia marketing chief Steve Maciver said.
The Blue Mountain, also known as the Lanshan in China and 07 in some export markets, is a 5156mm long SUV (longer than the Toyota LandCruiser) powered by a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol plug-in hybrid powertrain. It is offered in multiple trims and as both two- and four-wheel drive in China.
Combined with front and rear axle e-motors the claimed combined outputs are about 380kW and 930Nm.
Claimed electric range in the latest Blue Mountain via a 52.3kWh battery pack is up to 220km and the combined range 1343km (WLTC).
It’s the PHEV powertrain that has pushed the Blue Mountain to favouritism for an Australian arrival ahead of Haval’s own H9.
The H9 has previously been sold in Australia bit is only available with orthodox petrol and diesel powertrains.
“Plug in hybrid is one of the core technologies available on the Blue Mountain. It gets us that efficiency, plays well with us in the NVES [CO2 reduction scheme] space and that is a space that we think we can be very, very strong in with the number of options we have got,” confirmed Maciver.
“That’s probably one of the reasons we are looking at [Blue Mountain] more than H9. H9 hasn’t been 100 per cent definitively ruled out, but certainly the powertrain technology of the Blue Mountain is perhaps a bit more preferable for us and I think consumer tastes going forward.”
Offered in China as a six-seater, the latest Blue Mountain includes high-tech like dual 15.6-inch infotainment touchscreens, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 17.3-inch rear screen and a 29-inch head up display.
Pricing for the Blue Mountain tops out at 326,800 yuan in China, which equates to $70,815. Given its cut-throat pricing, GWM’s local goal would logically be to get it in well under $100,000.
