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Haval preparing SUV onslaught for 2020 Beijing motor show

Haval will launch a trio of next-generation crossovers at the 2020 Beijing motor show, and they're all set for Australia.


A new H2 compact crossover to go head-to-head with the Mazda CX-3, mid-sized H6 to rival the Toyota RAV4, and body-on-frame H9 to battle the Isuzu MU-X will be revealed, the company has confirmed.

Described by a company spokesperson as the "latest, freshest product" Haval has to offer, the SUV trio will be coming to Australia "not far behind" the Great Wall ute revealed in April this year.

That would put an early-to-mid 2021 arrival on the cards, as Haval Australia works "really aggressively" to get fresh product Down Under.

Haval's renewed focus on Australia comes as the company looks to boost its global sales from 1 million cars annually to 2 million by 2025.

At the moment, around 90 per cent of Haval sales are in China. To help drive sales growth, the company wants to bring the percentage of cars sold abroad up to 50 per cent, necessitating new product capable of duking it out with Japan and Europe's best.

Haval is currently up 155 per cent year-to-date in Australia, albeit off a low base. The H2 is its best-seller with 399 registrations, followed by the H6 (222 sales) and H9 (161 sales).

The company's ute arm and parent, Great Wall, will also get a new product boost when the new (as-yet unnamed ute) arrives late in 2020.

Launched at the Shanghai motor show in April, Great Wall wants the ute to be a top-three-selling mid-sized ute globally.

At 5425mm long, 1972mm wide and 1893mm tall, it's almost identical in length to the Ford Ranger, wider than an Amarok and comfortably taller than any of the existing dual-cab players down under, save for the Ranger Raptor.

The cargo bay is a match for the Triton's length-wise, measuring up at 1520mm long. Petrol and diesel 2.0-litre engines will be offered initially, but there's also talk of a larger turbo-diesel engine offering up to 500Nm of torque.

Despite offering high-end trimmings, the ute will be priced to take on the Ssangyong range according to Haval Australia's managing director.

"As always, we will supply very good value to the market. You see the pickup today we showed, which has a lot of technologies and performance, but in terms of the price it will be a very sharp one," he told Australian, New Zealand and South African media in Shanghai.

Much has been made of the pickup's move to a multi-link rear suspension, a first for the Chinese market. Braked towing capacity will be 3500kg, the car's platform director confirmed.

Expect some degree of local tuning for the new ute, too, with a Haval spokesperson telling Drive it'll have "more localised versions and adaptations for the Australian and New Zealand market".

Coil-sprung models will have a payload of just 500kg, down on the Nissan Navara and Ssangyong Musso.

Three models will be offered: a leaf-sprung 'Commercial', a lifestyle-oriented 'Urban', and the rugged 'Off-Road'.

Technology like lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control, a surround-view camera, and autonomous emergency braking will be offered, and a high level of standard kit is likely.

We also know the off-road model will be able to wade water 900mm deep, and will have a seven-setting four-wheel drive system for tricky terrain, however.

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