GWM has finally launched its first plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) in Australia, though it won’t be alone for long as the Chinese brand has a bevy of other PHEVs arriving this year.
Based on the purely petrol-powered GWM Haval H6 GT that first launched locally in 2022, the H6 GT PHEV is a new variant in the swoopy mid-sized SUV ‘coupe’ range.
It’s only being offered in Ultra trim at launch, just like the petrol-powered equivalent.
While the exterior and interior designs are virtually identical, save some PHEV badging and a charger flap, the main difference with the GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV is what’s under the bonnet.
There’s a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine that’s augmented by two electric motors – one on each axle. Total system outputs are 321kW of power and 762Nm of torque, which is astounding for a mainstream mid-sized SUV. The 0-100km/h sprint is also claimed to take just 4.9 seconds.
Feeding these electric motors is a humongous 35.4kWh battery pack that allows this car to travel up to 180km on electric power alone, according to lenient NEDC testing.
With a full battery charge and a full tank of petrol, GWM claims this car is capable of travelling over 1000km.
Customer deliveries of the GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV are commencing now and, coinciding with this, we had our first drive as part of the media launch from Sydney to Kiama.
How much does the GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV cost?
GWM is running an introductory pricing offer (ends March 31) on the Haval H6 GT PHEV, which sees the drive-away asking price cut by $2000. Owners also get a GWM home charger at no extra cost.
| Model | Drive-away price |
|---|---|
| 2025 GWM Haval H6 GT Ultra | $45,990 |
| 2025 GWM Haval H6 GT Ultra PHEV | $53,990 |
To see how the GWM Haval H6 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
What is the GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV like on the inside?
If you’re expecting there to be big changes inside, think again. It’s virtually identical to the purely petrol-powered H6 GT.
Like many crossover SUVs with an elevated ride height, this car is easy to get in and out of. You can tell why this type of car is so popular with people with poor mobility, as you don’t need to climb up or down into the car, and can rather step in and out.
Once you’re in, there are funky seats that are upholstered in what GWM calls Comfort-Tek. In reality, it’s black leatherette with suede-like accents on the upper portion of the backrest. There’s also a prominent orange ‘GT’ badge that’s embroidered onto the seats to make them look more special.
The front seats have a fairly good seating position that allows you to get comfortable. The driver’s seat in particular offers eight ways of electric adjustment, plus lumbar support, though it notably lacks any thigh support. This means the seat base feels a little flat, which is a common trait of many Chinese vehicles, though it’s nowhere near as bad as some others.
The front seats also offer both heating and ventilation. The latter came in handy during the surprisingly steamy Sydney weather.
From the driver’s seat perspective, there’s generally adequate frontward visibility, though the A-pillars are large and chunky. Things get trickier when looking out the back, as the sloping roofline limits how large the rear window can be. This is a common problem with coupe-style SUVs, as they sacrifice aesthetics for outright practicality.
Ahead of the driver, the steering wheel offers plenty of manual tilt and reach adjustment. This means that people of many different sizes and statures should be able to find a comfortable position.
Despite this, the steering wheel itself isn’t my favourite ever. Sure, the outer rim is refreshingly thin and nice to hold, but the spokes are too thick and placed too high. This meant I needed to have my hands placed higher on the wheel than I’d liked. It was more the classic 10-and-2 hand positioning, rather than 9-and-3.
Although the spokes are big, this means there’s plenty of space for the steering wheel buttons. All of them are easy to understand as well, which is becoming increasingly hard to come by as more new car brands enter the market.
Behind the steering wheel, there’s a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, which has no cowl and, as a result, can get reflections and shows dust. It doesn’t help that the interface on this screen is dark and minimalist, but having said that, it’s still clean and easy to understand.
There are multiple infographic pages you can cycle through on the digital instrument cluster. A few titles and acronyms for said infographic pages made me chuckle due to the direct translation from Chinese to English. They’re NSFW, so I won’t write them here, but if you know, you know.
There’s a bright head-up display on the dashboard, which is great to have as you don’t need to stray your eyes too far from the road to keep an eye on your current speed. There are a few different layouts to choose from.
Moving across, there’s a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, which is perched high on the dashboard like a tablet. On the surface level, the user interface is fairly easy to navigate, and if you do get lost there are touch-sensitive shortcut buttons on the right-hand side of the touchscreen.
You do have to use the touchscreen a lot, however, to use/alter many vehicle functions. This means diving into numerous sub-menus, which can get convoluted and confusing very quickly.
It’s most frustrating when you want to adjust the vehicle’s PHEV-related functions as they’re buried in the ‘New Energy’ sub-menu in the ‘Vehicle Settings’ menu. Unless you’re shown where this is, it can feel like a wild goose chase.
Thankfully, there’s also a swipe-down control centre-like menu on the touchscreen that has a few shortcut widgets. This makes adjusting things that are typically hidden in sub-menus a lot easier. It’s worth noting, however, that it can only be accessed in the native user interface and not while using smartphone mirroring.
Speaking of smartphone mirroring, the Haval H6 GT PHEV, like its regular petrol-powered counterpart, still only offers wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The USB-A port to access this is also still on the passenger’s side of the car, which is confusing as there is another USB-A port on the driver’s side, but it’s for power only. I wish GWM would rectify this.
During our admittedly brief launch program, we used wired Apple CarPlay for the navigation, and it worked with no problems whatsoever.
Another feature you need to use the touchscreen for is adjusting the climate controls, which is becoming increasingly common as carmakers ditch physical switchgear. Sure, there are some physical buttons on the centre console to turn the whole system off and on, as well as the air-conditioning and window defoggers, but additional physical buttons or switches for changing the temperature and fan speed wouldn’t go astray.
Looking around the cabin, it looks stylish enough. I appreciate the lack of shiny piano black, but the fake carbon-fibre finishes cheapen the overall look. There are also plenty of black finishes, which can make the cabin feel smaller than it is, but thankfully there’s also a panoramic glass sunroof, which adds an airy feel.
There’s a generous amount of storage space up front, including two cupholders, key storage around the rotary gear selector, and a large open storage area under the centre console, as well as a typical centre console box and glovebox.
Hopping into the second row, you’d expect space would be at a premium, given ‘coupe’ SUVs typically sacrifice room for aesthetics. However, the H6 GT PHEV defies this as there’s oodles of space for adults behind adults.
At a leggy 182cm, there was a generous amount of legroom and headroom for me. The latter is particularly surprising as a sloping roofline typically eats into headroom, especially if there’s also a sunroof.
Like many Chinese SUVs, the second-row bench is comfortable and laidback. You can easily have two people sitting in comfort, and if you wanted you could even push it to three abreast as the transmission hump isn’t huge.
Second-row amenities include air vents and USB-A ports, as well as a fold-down armrest with cupholders. It’s fairly standard back there for a mid-sized SUV.
Around the back, there’s a power tailgate that has a hands-free function, which comes in handy if you’ve got your hands full and need to open the boot.
Once the tailgate is open, the boot space on offer is surprisingly decent. Many coupe SUVs compromise boot capacity, but the space itself is square and usable. There are also handy storage nooks off the side to securely stow things like bottles.
It’s worth noting that the H6 GT PHEV has the same boot capacity as the regular H6 GT (392L), though this is down on what the H6 wagon offers (600L).
Under the boot floor, there’s a space to slot a charging cable, but unfortunately, there’s no spare tyre. The latter is common in electrified vehicles because their high-voltage componentry eats into the space where a spare wheel would typically go.
| Dimensions | GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV |
|---|---|
| Length | 4727mm |
| Width | 1940mm |
| Height | 1729mm |
| Wheelbase | 2738mm |
| Cargo capacity | 392L (5 seats) 1390L (2 seats) |
To see how the GWM Haval H6 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
What’s under the bonnet?
A small turbo-petrol engine, two electric motors, and a stonking high-voltage battery pack.
| Specifications | GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV |
|---|---|
| Engine | 1.5-litre 4cyl turbo-petrol 2 electric motors |
| Engine outputs | 110kW @ 5500-6000rpm 230Nm @ 1500-4000rpm |
| Electric motor outputs | 130kW/300Nm (front) 135kW/232Nm (rear) |
| System outputs | 321kW 762Nm |
| Battery | 35.43kWh ternary li-ion battery |
| Transmission | 2-speed ‘Dedicated Hybrid Transmission’ |
| Drive type | AWD |
| Weight (kerb) | 2075kg |
| 0-100km/h (claimed) | 4.9 seconds |
| Fuel economy (claimed) | 0.8L/100km 5.4L/100km (low battery SoC) |
| Electric driving range | 180km (NEDC) |
| Max AC charge rate | 6.6kW |
| Max DC charge rate | 48kW |
| Fuel tank capacity | 55L |
| Fuel requirement | 91-octane regular unleaded |
| CO2 emissions | 19g/km |
| Emissions standard | Euro 5 |
| Braked tow capacity | 1500kg |
To see how the GWM Haval H6 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
How does the GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV drive?
It’s worth noting straight up that there are many ways to drive this car, and with the driving conditions we experienced during the launch program, we barely scratched the surface.
Thanks to the humongous 35.43kWh battery pack, this car is claimed to be able to travel up to 180km on electric power alone, according to lenient NEDC testing.
Although we didn’t get to test the full depths of what this car is capable of, we did a 125km highway/motorway drive exclusively in EV mode and still had a quarter of the battery’s charge left once we reached our destination. So a real-world EV range of 150km sounds doable, which is absolutely bananas. It’s by far the most electric range of any PHEV I’ve experienced to date.
There are two different EV modes to choose from, but they largely do the same thing. Both prioritise electric power as much as possible, and they’ll only call on the petrol engine if you’re accelerating hard or the battery charge is low.
The two electric motors produce a lot of power, so acceleration in EV mode is punchy. You’ll easily be keeping up with other cars if you partake in the traffic light grand prix.
Unlike some PHEVs, this car is capable of accelerating up to and maintaining highway speeds on electric power alone. When you’re doing this, the car is virtually silent, and there’s barely any wind or tyre noise. This can sometimes become more apparent in these types of cars as the absence of engine noise sometimes makes other sounds more noticeable.
Speaking of noise, though, when you’re travelling around town at lower speeds, this car makes an annoying droning sound with its acoustic pedestrian warning system. It’s at its loudest at around 20-25km/h before switching off once the speed gets higher.
Once the battery charge runs out, or you manually select the ‘Intelligent Hybrid’ mode, the car acts like a regular hybrid vehicle and uses the petrol engine more often.
You’d be hard-pressed to know when the engine switches on, though, because it’s so quiet and refined. The only real way you can tell beyond looking at the instrument cluster is by a subtle vibration through the accelerator pedal.
The ‘Intelligent Hybrid’ mode is also handy as it prioritises what power source is most efficient. Around town, it’ll lean heavily on the two electric motors for the majority of progress, whereas at speeds over 70km/h it’ll use the petrol engine more as it’s more efficient than using the electric motors.
On the highway in ‘Intelligent Hybrid’ mode, the car averaged around 5.0L/100km, which is pretty average for a hybrid vehicle.
If you’re not about efficiency, though, this car is capable of driving very quickly. All up, it produces 321kW of power and 762Nm of torque, which is a bucket-tonne for a mainstream mid-sized SUV.
This car comes with a launch control mode, which is claimed to allow this car to hit 100km/h in just 4.9 seconds. You need to select the ‘Sport’ drive mode, then disengage traction control, which left me feeling a little anxious.
I shouldn’t have worried though because, save some minor tyre squeal, this car rockets to 100km/h confidently and quickly, with no problems at all. It’s an exhilarating experience that’ll likely be something cool to show off to passengers, but ultimately it doesn’t serve a lot of use for what is essentially an everyday commuter car.
There are three different regenerative braking modes to choose from in the H6 GT PHEV, as well as a one-pedal driving mode. For the majority of our launch drive program, I stuck with the ‘Normal’ regen braking mode as it felt the most natural.
Despite this, the brake pedal has an awkwardly long travel and has a stiff, wooden feel. This is often the case with hybrid vehicles as they blend regenerative braking and friction braking when slowing down. The transition from the two can sometimes be a little disjointed, too.
There are three steering modes to choose from: Comfort, Sport and Light. Although I flirted with Sport for brief occasions, I mainly stuck with Comfort mode as it wasn’t too firm or light. Goldilocks would approve.
Given that we drove on the freeway predominantly, we didn’t get a good read on ride quality. At higher speeds, it’s unremarkable, but you can feel the added weight over the pure petrol-powered H6 GT in the bends. You need to remember that the high-voltage battery pack in this car weighs around 450kg.
Despite this, the H6 GT PHEV is still a comfortable highway tourer that’s claimed to be capable of travelling up to 1000km on a full battery charge and tank of petrol.
On the safety front, the adaptive cruise control system isn’t the best out there. Like many Chinese vehicles, it tends to brake early when it detects a car ahead and will leave a big gap that other cars will cut into, causing the H6 GT PHEV to slow down further.
If there aren’t any cars in front of you, however, the car will happily cruise along. Thanks to the regenerative braking, the car will also stay at the set speed limit very comfortably.
This car also slows down quite heavily in the bends, which is something I’ve experienced in every GWM vehicle to date. It’s a little unsettling from behind the wheel, though thankfully you can override it by pressing on the accelerator.
Another awkward safety-related feature is the lane-keep assist, which can be intrusive with the steering inputs when you drift close to a lane marking. It was annoying enough at some points for me to switch it off. This needs to be done through the touchscreen.
There’s also lane centring, which works in combination with the adaptive cruise control system. It can be hands-on with the steering inputs, but on clearly marked highways and freeways it is handy at reducing driver fatigue.
Aside from these gripes, I appreciated the fact this car barely has any safety-related bings and bongs. It’s a refreshing change, as Chinese carmakers have been the worst offenders on this front lately.
To see how the GWM Haval H6 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
What do you get?
The GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV is only offered in a single Ultra trim level identical to its pure-petrol sibling.
2025 GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV Ultra equipment highlights:
- All-wheel drive
- Michelin Sport tyres
- 19-inch black-finish alloy wheels
- Tyre pressure monitoring
- LED headlights, daytime running lights and front fog lights
- Roof rails
- Hill descent control
- 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster
- 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
- 8-speaker sound system
- Intelligent voice command
- Dual-zone climate control
- Head-up display
- Heated, leather-wrapped steering wheel
- Comfort-Tek leatherette upholstery
- Heated and ventilated front seats
- 8-way power driver’s seat
- Wireless phone charging
- Ambient lighting
- Hands-free power tailgate
- Heated door mirrors
- Semi-automatic parking assist
- Matte black GWM badging
To see how the GWM Haval H6 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
Is the GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV safe?
All petrol and hybrid versions of the GWM Haval H6 and Haval H6 GT have a five-star ANCAP safety rating based on testing conducted in 2022.
This rating hasn’t carried over to the GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV yet, however. GWM Australia says it has sent engineering documents for this new PHEV variant to ANCAP, though it’s unclear when it will receive an independent safety rating.
Standard safety equipment includes:
- Seven airbags
- Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
- Pedestrian detection
- Cyclist detection
- Crossroad/junction detection
- Manoeuvre braking
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Lane departure warning
- Lane-keep assist
- Emergency lane-keep assist
- Traffic sign recognition
- Adaptive cruise control with stop/go
- Intelligent Cruise Assist
- Traffic Jam Assist
- Reversing camera
- Surround-view camera
- Front and rear parking sensors
- “Full Auto Parking” tech
- Tyre pressure monitoring
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Reverse AEB
To see how the GWM Haval H6 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
How much does the GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV cost to run?
The GWM Haval H6 GT is covered by a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, while its high-voltage battery pack is backed by an eight-year, 160,000km warranty.
| Servicing and Warranty | GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV |
|---|---|
| Warranty | 7 years, unlimited kilometres |
| Roadside assistance | 5 years |
| Service intervals | 12 months or 15,000 kilometres |
| Capped-price servicing | 5 years or 70,000 kilometres |
| Total capped-price service cost | $TBD |
To see how the GWM Haval H6 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
CarExpert’s Take on the GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV
PHEVs are a hot topic right now, and although GWM is a little late to the party with the introduction of its first PHEV locally, the GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV certainly makes a compelling case for itself.
In fact, I’d go as far as to say this car is the closest you can get to Hannah Montana in car form, because you truly do get the best of both worlds.
It has a benchmark EV range claim of up to 180km, according to lenient NEDC testing, which is well beyond what any similarly priced competitor currently offers.
This generous amount of EV range means that people who travel 30km or less during their everyday commute for work during the week will likely only need to charge the car once a week. Plus, there’s a petrol engine under the bonnet so you don’t need to worry about charging the battery all the time. So there’s no range anxiety.
The fact this car can also do the 0-100km/h sprint in about five seconds makes it one of the ultimate street sleepers going. No less than 321kW of power and 762Nm of torque may be a bit too much for your everyday mid-sized SUV commuter, but it’s satisfying to know you’ve got so much oomph available on tap.
Better yet, all this can be yours for the enticing asking price of $53,990 drive-away, which is only $8000 more than the pure petrol-powered model. Some PHEVs are upwards of $15,000 more expensive than their petrol counterparts. Yes, I’m looking at you, Mitsubishi Outlander.
There are so many ways to drive a PHEV, and at this media launch drive it felt like we only scratched the surface of what this car is capable of. We look forward to spending more time behind the wheel, especially so we can see what the GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV is like to live with everyday.
Interested in buying a GWM Haval H6? Get in touch with one of CarExpert’s trusted dealers here
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