A recall has been issued for 571 GWM Haval H7 vehicles to be eligible for a five-star ANCAP safety rating, following concerns the driver's head restraint could dislodge.
Great Wall Motors (GWM) has launched a voluntary safety recall for 571 examples of its 2025 GWM Haval H7 SUV after ANCAP testing caused its head restraint to dislodge from the driver's seat back in a collision.
The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has issued a five-star rating to Haval H7 vehicles built from October 15, 2025, with vehicles manufactured between April and October 2025 to be eligible for the score after the recall has been completed at a GWM dealership.
"During the full-width frontal test, the head restraint dislodged from the driver’s seat back," ANCAP said in its safety report for the GWM Haval H7.
"While this does not affect scoring under 2023-2025 rating criteria, it may increase the risk of injury to the driver."
The safety recall says: "The Haval H7 headrest utilises a unilateral locking mechanism, where the locking pin slides downward along the headrest rod into the lock slot to secure the position."
"In affected vehicles, the locking groove may be out of specification, preventing proper engagement when the headrest is set to the lowest non-locking position."
ANCAP chief executive officer Carla Hoorweg said the safety organisation works with vehicle manufacturers when "testing reveals unexpected results".
“GWM has done the right thing and initiated a voluntary recall on affected vehicles. We encourage all existing Haval H7 owners to visit their local dealership and have the recall action completed," Hoorweg said.
The Haval H7 – tested under ANCAP's soon-to-be-superseded 2023-2025 assessment criteria – scored 89 per cent for Adult Occupant Protection, 91 per cent for Child Occupant Protection, 81 per cent for Vulnerable Road User Protection and 80 per cent for Safety Assist.
'Weak' protection of the rear passenger's chest was identified in the frontal-offset test, which simulates a head-on collision between two vehicles, while it achieved 'Good' or 'Adequate' results for front passengers and all other body regions of a rear passenger.
In pedestrian impact testing, the Haval H7 was scored 'Marginal' and 'Poor' for its stiff windscreen pillars, the base of its windscreen, and the front and side of its bonnet.
A 'Good' result was recorded for its forward autonomous emergency braking (AEB) detection for pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, while its reverse AEB performance was 'Weak'.
While the Haval H7 is fitted with a driver monitoring camera to detect drowsiness, ANCAP did not award any points as the system does not default to 'On' when the vehicle is restarted.
It is currently offered in one grade, the front-wheel-drive Vanta Hybrid, at $46,990 drive-away.
Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
