Chinese auto giant GAC is preparing to multiply its showroom line-up with a ute – and at least one traditional sedan – in the coming years.
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New Chinese entrant GAC has announced plans to introduce "more than 10 models" in Australia over the next five years – starting with its first three launched in recent days – in a bid to place among the country's best-selling car brands.
Among the plans confirmed by GAC International president Wei Haigang this week is a dual-cab ute – expected to offer range-extender plug-in hybrid (PHEV) power – plus one or more sedans.
The Chinese giant has set its sights on becoming a Top 10 selling brand in three years – by 2028 – after selling its first 1000 cars in the next six weeks.
"Australia is a very important part of [our] journey," the GAC executive told media and dealers.
The GAC brand has launched in Australia with the Emzoom small petrol-powered SUV, Aion V mid-size electric SUV, and M8 large plug-in hybrid people mover.
Included in the new-model rollout will be "utility markets", presentation slides shown behind Haigang said, as well as "A-segment" and "B-segment" SUVs.
These refer to smaller high-riding models with the footprint of a Suzuki Jimny and Mazda CX-3, respectively.
Given the Emzoom is already priced from $25,590 plus on-road costs – one of the least expensive cars in its size class – the new SUVs have the potential to compete for the title of Australia's cheapest new cars.
That title is currently held by the Kia Picanto, which starts from $19,190 before on-road costs with a manual transmission.
A media release issued by GAC head office overnight also lets slip plans for traditional passenger cars to complement the SUVs, ute and people mover.
"Over the next five years, GAC plans to introduce over ten new models across sedans, SUVs, pickup trucks, and MPVs," the company said.
GAC sells the Empow sedan in its home market of China, a Hyundai i30 Sedan-sized four-door with a choice of turbo-petrol and hybrid power, offering as much as 195kW from a 2.0-litre engine in a flagship R 400T performance edition.
On display at GAC's launch event in Sydney were two other vehicles from overseas markets that the brand has not yet locked in for local showrooms: the S7 large SUV, and Hyptec HT electric mid-size-to-large SUV.
Jason Pecotic, chief operating officer of GAC Motor Australia, has previously told Drive the brand plans to introduce a small hatchback between January and March 2026, followed by a mid-size, range-extender or PHEV SUV around September next year.
"Going into 2027, we're doing a large EV [electric] SUV … and then we're doing [another] large SUV, which will be a hybrid range-extender or PHEV," he told Drive.
The executive said the GAC ute is due in the second half of 2027 "as a range extender or PHEV," expected to draw inspiration from the GAC Pickup 01 concept revealed at the Shanghai motor show earlier this year.
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Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
