New 2025 GWM Haval H6 coming to Australia, could arrive this year with plug-in hybrid power

A new GWM Haval H6 mid-sized SUV is coming to Australia, and could arrive in showrooms as soon as the end of this year with plug-in hybrid power.

The new model – which is expected to be called the H6 when it arrives in Australia – has been confirmed to be based on what is known as the Haval Xiaolong Max (codenamed B07) in the brand’s home market of China.

Confirmed by Charles Zhao, managing director of GWM Australia at a recent media launch, the new H6 will be the third generation of the model in Australia – and follows three and a half years after the current H6 arrived.

When asked whether this model – currently available in China – is under consideration for the Australian market, Mr Zhao told Drive: "That is the new H6. We're going to have it."

Mr Zhao suggested it could arrive in the second half of 2024, however this timing is not locked in, and the new H6 could be delayed to 2025.

The current Haval H6 is available with 2.0-litre turbo-petrol or 1.5-litre turbo-petrol hybrid engines, the latter with combined outputs of 179kW and 530Nm.

The new-generation model will be 105mm larger than its predecessor at 4758mm, according to specifications for the Xiaolong Max in the Chinese market.

The next H6 is also tipped to debut a new plug-in hybrid powertrain, with combined outputs of 205kW and 585Nm, a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 6.8 seconds, and an electric-only driving range of 83km in lenient Chinese testing.

Fuel economy of 1.8 litres per 100 kilometres is claimed – again in Chinese testing – while driving with a near-empty battery, and using the car as a Toyota-style hybrid is said to yield fuel consumption of 5.5 litres per 100 kilometres.

The current Haval H6 hybrid claims fuel economy of 5.2L/100km, while recent testing by Drive saw real-world consumption of 6.7L/100km.

The petrol part of the plug-in hybrid system in the new H6 is a non-turbo 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine, which runs on the efficiency-focussed Atkinson cycle, for 85kW and 140Nm.

A front electric motor offers 70kW and 100Nm, while the rear electric motor is more powerful with 150kW and 350Nm.