GWM expects Australia’s plug-in hybrid electric vehicle revolution to continue, with PHEV variants forecast to account for a significant chunk of the H6 sales pie over the next 12 months.
The updated H6 mid-size SUV will launch in Australia with a choice of petrol, hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains, priced between $35,990 drive-away and $50,990 drive-away.
While plug-in hybrids represented just 1.9 per cent of total vehicle sales in Australia in 2024, it’s the fastest growing powertrain type on the market. Last year’s total of 23,163 PHEV sales was up 100 per cent on the year before, and 25,613 examples have already been sold to the end of June this year.
GWM is backing the H6 PHEV to account for more than 20 per cent of H6 deliveries, with hybrids expected to account for 60 per cent of sales and petrol variants to make up the remaining 20 per cent.
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“I think it’s [20 per cent PHEV sales] absolutely feasible,” GWM Australia’s head of marketing and communications Steve Maciver told media including CarExpert.
“The reason I say that is that with H6GT, we’re running a 50/50 split between petrol and plug-in hybrid – people are saying they’re willing to spend the premium on a plug-in hybrid because the range, performance and flexibility of that car stacks up.
“I think we’ve got a very compelling argument with this car. The numbers in terms of range, performance, and combined fuel-efficiency… it’s a very compelling package.
“We’ve got some great plug-in hybrid technology. So for me, in 2026 I think 20 per cent should probably be a minimum expectation.
“My view is that hybrid is probably going to be 55-60 per cent of sales, and petrol will reduce.”
Rapid growth in PHEV sales has come at the expense of EVs, sales of which were down 36.6 per cent in the first half of 2025. Petrol vehicle sales are also down, while the hybrid market is up 14.9 per cent.
GWM is set to benefit from that turning tide, as it boasts a hybrid-heavy lineup of models in Australia, where the Chinese automaker offers its Cannon Alpha dual-cab ute and Haval H6 GT with PHEV powertrains, with the Tank 500 PHEV due here by the end of 2025.
It also offers hybrid versions of the Tank 500 and smaller Tank 300, as well as the Haval H6 and Haval Jolion SUVs.
By racking up hybrid sales in volume segments, GWM hopes to build up New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) credits and subsequently use them to trim vehicle prices.
“We don’t want to build up credits to sell them, we want to maximise our volume any way we can,” said GWM chief operating officer, John Kett.
“That’s what we’re hoping with the H6, but we also know that if it does perform a little bit better, our choice becomes ‘should we go harder on petrol pricing?’”
Toyota remains the undisputed hybrid leader in Australia, where the next generation of its top-selling RAV4 – a direct rival for the H6 – will continue to be an all-hybrid model when it arrives in 2026, including the option of a PHEV powertrain for the first time.
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