New Santa Fe-sized Haval SUV with the latest hybrid technology
GWM has unveiled its new Haval plug-in hybrid SUV, codenamed B07, during an official unveiling at the Shanghai Motor Show.
Dubbed the “next-generation mid-size SUV” for the Haval brand, it will go on sale in China in May and in turn will be launched in global markets.
“We like what we’re seeing and it’s a car we’d welcome to Australia. In the meantime, however, the final decision has yet to be made,” said a spokesman for GWM Haval Australia.
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It is 4758mm long, 1895mm wide and 1725mm high with a wheelbase of 2800mm – 103mm longer, 9mm wider and 1mm higher than a GWM Haval H6 with a 62mm longer wheelbase. That only makes it incrementally smaller than a Hyundai Santa Fe.
GWM Haval claims a total trunk of 551 liters per VDA measurement, expanding to 1377 liters when the second row is folded.
Up front, the dashboard houses a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster with a 10-inch head-up display in front of the driver.
The total output of the B07 is 205 kW of power and 585 Nm of torque, with a rear-mounted electric motor generating 150 kW and 350 Nm.
A 20 kWh battery has a purely electric range of 105 km with a fuel consumption of 5.5 l/100 km.
The B07 will debut GWM’s new Hi4 technology, which includes an “EV-based powertrain” combining a petrol engine and two electric motors, and a two-speed hybrid transmission.
When the battery dies, the car performs like a regular hybrid, and GWM claims it’s both more energy efficient and offers a more EV-like driving experience than other plug-in hybrid SUVs.
Models with the Hi4 system will feature GWM’s Intelligent Torque Vectoring Control, which promises to distribute torque between the front and rear axles in milliseconds to improve safety and stability.
There’s an “intelligent system” that can switch between nine different driving modes based on real-time road conditions.
In city traffic, it alternates between pure electric two-wheel drive, serial hybrid mode and direct-drive mode in first gear to avoid using the petrol engine. At high speeds, direct drive mode is used in second gear to maximize efficiency.
Brake Energy Regeneration is also part of the system.
GWM also calls the B07 a “strategic model” that will “take the lead” for the “new energy transformation” of the Haval brand.
The Haval brand, now treated as a sub-brand in Australia, has hybrid versions of Jolion and H6 in Australia. In China, it also sells a plug-in hybrid version of the latter, as well as a PHEV version of its H-Dog (a.k.a. second-gen Big Dog).
It has yet to introduce all-electric models.
