The head of GAC Australia said it has the pick of global models for potential local launches, as its Chinese parent busily expands its global presence.
GAC, which stands for Guangzhou Automobile Group, sells more cars in left-hand drive China than in any other market, posting 2 million sales there in 2024. However, it also sells vehicles in various right-hand drive markets such as Thailand.
It will launch in Australia this month with a ready parts supply, around 30 dealers and three models confirmed – a petrol SUV, electric SUV and a plug-in hybrid people mover.
While GAC offers three separate marques in China – Aion, China-only brand GAC Trumpchi, and Hyptec – it will sell all its vehicles under the GAC name in Australia regardless of their overseas branding.
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In addition to those models, GAC says it has a wide range of right-hand drive vehicles to choose for the Australian lineup.
“When we design the product, we have already designed what we call the global platform that could be used for both right-hand and left-hand drive,” Cheney Liang, deputy general manager of GAC Australia, told CarExpert.
“We also have many right-hand [drive] markets, like the United Kingdom, South Africa, and a couple of countries in Asia like Hong Kong and Singapore.”
A look at GAC’s Thai lineup, for example, reveals a raft of right-hand drive electric vehicles (EVs) ranging from the mid-size Aion ES sedan up to the premium Hyptec HT large SUV with its distinctive gull-wing doors.
The economies of scale for right-hand drive models gives the state-owned Chinese automaker an advantage over some rivals, including Western companies such as Ford and General Motors that produce a slew of potentially desirable vehicles exclusively in left-hand drive.
The competitiveness of the Australian market gives GAC a greater range of cars to choose from to achieve its goal of being a top ten best-selling brand here by 2030.
The initial focus, however, is on SUVs and not passenger cars – the latter a term referring to, among other vehicle types, hatchbacks and sedans.
“Before we decide the products coming to Australia, we have done some research and we saw the passenger car market share is going down, so we decided to bring here the most popular first, which is SUV,” Mr Liang said.
“We still haven’t decided all models that will come in the future … each may have a chance if there is a customer need,” Mr Liang continued.
The two SUVs confirmed for Australia are the petrol-powered GAC Trumpchi GS3 Emzoom, a Nissan Qashqai-sized five-seat, petrol-powered SUV, and the Toyota RAV4-sized battery-electric Aion V SUV.
They’ll be joined by the GAC Trumpchi E9 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) people mover, with another unnamed SUV and a dual-cab ute in 2027 as part of an eight-model lineup by 2029.
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