GWM Australia has big plans for 2026 after 2025 was its best sales year ever. The launch of ten new or revised models is now confirmed and additional dealerships are opening across the country.
The company announced last year that it wanted to become one of the top five car brands in Australia and confirmed a number of new models, including Great Wall Motor’s first premium model Wey Brand.
Now the company has given further insight into its future product plans with GWM signing up various models from its brand range in China – all of which will be treated as sub-brands and sold under the same GWM banner in Australia – including passenger cars, SUVs and light trucks.
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While GWM plans to further expand its plug-in hybrid (PHEV) offering and finally introduce more electric vehicles (EVs), GWM isn’t forgetting pure combustion power either.
GWM’s new 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel powertrain will make its global debut in Australia, where it will be available under the hood of the Cannon Alpha ute and Tank 500 large off-road SUVs.
It is said to offer more power and torque than GWM’s current largest turbodiesel, the 2.4-litre engine in the Cannon, Cannon Alpha and Tank 300, which produces 135kW of power and 480Nm of torque.
The slightly smaller Cannon ute and Tank 300 off-road SUVs will follow their larger siblings in introducing plug-in hybrid power, with the Tank 300 Hi4-T PHEV launching in April and the Cannon Hi4-T due to launch here in mid-2026.
Also appearing this year is the mid-sized Haval Jolion Max SUV, which is offered with either PHEV or EV powertrains – making it the first GWM EV with a Haval badge.
Although the name is similar to GWM’s current entry-level model, the Haval Jolion small SUV, the Jolion Max is a larger vehicle.
GWM’s slow-selling Ora electric hatch will be joined by “at least” two more Ora-branded models, and the company also confirmed today that it “may introduce PHEV technology to the Ora range”.
The Ora brand in China has so far only offered electric vehicles.
One of these new Ora models is expected to be the Ora 5 mid-size SUV, while GWM’s hint at the launch of new passenger vehicles could suggest that the Ora Sport will finally be here.
GWM brought an example of the electric sedan to Australia in 2024 for local media to test, and an estate version was subsequently added to the Chinese market.
Finally, GWM Australia plans to launch Wey as a sub-brand in the second half of 2026, and its debut model is said to be a luxury people mover known as the 80, G9 or Gaoshan in other markets.
Not only will GWM’s product range be expanded, the dealer network will also grow.
GWM is aiming to expand its network by 10 percent, bringing the total number of dealers nationwide from 123 to 135 by the end of this year. This includes a new flagship dealership in Rockingham, Western Australia, which will set new standards for the look, feel and service experience of GWM dealerships.
The company also confirmed it has increased its headcount by 20 per cent, including appointing new heads of customer experience and parts and logistics.
“Product is just one element of success. Expanded dealer network coverage, improved after-sales support, improved parts availability and comprehensive technical training will form the cornerstones of our pursuit of a top five position. These are non-negotiable,” said John Kett, Chief Operating Officer of GWM ANZ.
GWM recorded 52,809 deliveries in Australia last year, its highest number to date. The brand ranked seventh overall, making it the best-selling Chinese brand Down Under in 2025.
This year, GWM plans to deliver more than 60,000 vehicles and increase its market share from 4.3 to 7.0 percent by 2027.
Based on the size of the Australian new car market last year, that’s around 87,000 sales, which would put the company in the top five. If the company had delivered that many vehicles last year, it would have been beaten only by Toyota, Ford and Mazda.
However, Mr Kett confirmed last week that GWM was targeting annual sales volumes of around 75,000 units in the coming years.
“We don’t make any fancy statements about 100,000 (sales) and our premium brand will be 10,000. We only want to get to 75,000 – so this year we’ve set a target of a ‘6’ ahead of our volume number and we have 20,000 ideas to get there,” he told Australian media.
“Our advantage is that we’re represented across all fuel types. Our nemesis is that we don’t quite have the history of BYD or Geely because we’re not as one-dimensional.”
GWM says it is “entering its next phase of growth with a robust pipeline designed to challenge established players and redefine expectations in the Australian automotive landscape”.
The brand now has a range of small, medium and large SUVs; two different utes; and a passenger car. It also offers gasoline, diesel, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric powertrains.
But it not only has to contend with more established players from Japan and Korea, but also up-and-coming Chinese automakers.
BYD was just 394 deliveries behind GWM last year and is launching a number of new models of its own, including Australia’s cheapest electric vehicle, the Atto 1 Hatch.
There are also small and mid-sized electric SUVs, a mid-size electric sedan and a large three-row plug-in hybrid SUV, for which GWM currently has no answer.
Chery is also making rapid progress in Australia and wants to be one of the top five brands here. Sister brand Omoda Jaecoo is also expected to be in the top 10. MG has also already announced that it will be one of the top five brands by 2027 and one of the top three brands by 2030.
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