Great Wall Motor's Haval H6 Hybrid – Another Brick in the Wall?
Great Wall Motor (GWM) premiered the new Haval H6 Hybrid SUV at the 42nd Bangkok International Motor Show this week, a reaffirmation of the company’s xEV commitment to Asian if not world domination.
GWM’s launch follows their entry into the Thai market in February of this year. Elliot Zhang, President, Great Wall Motor ASEAN and Thailand, said, “GWM has been accelerating our operations to meet the needs of Thai consumers as quickly as possible. Despite challenges surrounding COVID-19, we have completed our acquisition of Rayong factory, connected with Thai consumers to gain their insights, and launched the GWM brand in Thailand. Throughout 30 years, GWM has created a phenomenal success through many popular products. In China, the pickup from GWM has been number one in terms of sales for 23 consecutive years and the Haval brand has surpassed sales of 6.5 million units. Haval H6 has been the leader in sales for eight consecutive years.”
The Haval H6 Hybrid SUV on display at the show is a two-wheel drive version with a 1.5-liter turbo engine and a 130-kW electric motor, resulting in integrated power output of 179 kW or 243 HP, and integrated torque of 530 Nm. Rolling on blingy-looking 19-inch wheels, the Haval H6 has overall dimensions of 6-feet 2.25-inches wide, by 15-feet, 3.19-inches long by 5-feet, 7.87-inches high, with a wheelbase of 8-feet, 11.79-inches, a somewhat larger SUV for the Asian market.
Technology is big everywhere, and here GWM has incorporated Integrated Auto Parking, 360-degree cams and sensors to seek out parking spaces, and complete the parking function autonomously. Auto Reversing Assistance (ARA) memorizes directions at speeds lower than 29 MPH, and can drive in reverse for up to 49 feet. The best is Wisdom Dodge System (WDS), which detects and keeps the Haval H6 a fixed distance from other vehicles. WDS maintains that distance while overtaking another vehicle, and will automatically steer the H6 back in its lane, resulting in safe overtaking. No idea if the driver in the other vehicle doesn’t want you to pass whether WDS will accelerate autonomously in ‘Fast And The Furious’ fashion to put your Haval H6 in the lead or not.
The Haval H6 Hybrid will be open for orders in Thailand in the second quarter of this year. GWM will host test drive events and other activities in this market prior to the SUV’s on-sale date.
According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), there were about 215,000 pickups sold in China in the first seven months of 2020, or 430,000 extrapolated for the year. In comparison, there were 3.1 million sold in the U.S., of which 787,422 were Ford F-series trucks. At this rate, it will take all the Chinese manufacturers several generations and many iterations of their trucks just to reach Ford’s current output.
[Images: Great Wall Motor]
With a father who owned a dealership, I literally grew up in the business. After college, I worked for GM, Nissan and Mazda, writing articles for automotive enthusiast magazines as a side gig. I discovered you could make a living selling ad space at Four Wheeler magazine, before I moved on to selling TV for the National Hot Rod Association. After that, I started Roadhouse, a marketing, advertising and PR firm dedicated to the automotive, outdoor/apparel, and entertainment industries. Through the years, I continued writing, shooting, and editing. It keep things interesting.
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They briefly sold the Great Wall Steed locally. Some local farmers picked it up as a cheap alternative to the similar looking Isuzu DMax Denver Rodeo. But then EU regulations forced them out of the market again.
Haval sounds like a misspelling of Halal. What happened to versions H1 through H5? The wheels are too big and the engine is too small. Seriously, 1.5 liters??!! It would almost put a '61 VW Beetle to shame.