One of China’s premium SUVs could be headed to Australia.
And, you might not have heard of it before.
Owned by parent company Great Wall Motors (GWM), Wey is the premium SUV marque of the brand, which also carries the Haval, Great Wall and Ora badges under its name.
Since launching in 2016, Wey, has only sold its vehicles in China, but the brand is now looking to expand. And, it’s got the European, American and Australian markets on its radar.
Tom Zhang from Haval Australia says the VV7 isn’t out of the question for Australia, but not until 2021.
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He also says the model would likely be re-badged to sit under the Haval name if it’s to hit the Aussie market.
Available exclusively as a five-seater, the VV7 sold in China features the same 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine as the Haval H6 and F7 SUVs, paired to a seven-speed dual-clutch auto in all-wheel drive configuration.
However, that 2.0-litre engine is tuned with slightly more power in the VV7, allowing for outputs of 172kW of power and 360Nm of torque.
In terms of what Australia can expect, Zhang says there’s a chance the re-badged VV7 will be available in a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) drivetrain, meaning it would likely share powertrains with the brand’s current P8 PHEV SUV.
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2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine... Needs four giant pipes? Really?