The Haval H5 full size body-on-frame off-road SUV hit the mass production in China. It will hit the Chinese market in Q4 this year with 2-liter petrol or diesel-powered engine, AWD and a reasonable price range of 100,000 – 150,000 yuan (14,000 – 21,000 USD). Let’s get to the details about the H5 production launch.
Mass production of the Haval H5
GWM Jingmen plant
The production of the Haval H5 was launched at the Great Wall Motor plant in Jingmen, Hubei province. Speaking about this factory, its construction was launched in 2020 with an investment of 6 billion yuan (841.5 million USD). After the construction was over in January 2022, the annual production capacity of the Jingmen factory reached 140,000 vehicles. However, GWM managed to manufacture only 50,000 units last year. Its main reason is the lack of models that are manufactured there. The Jingmen plant manufactured only Tank 500, GWM Shanghai Poer and GWM King Kong Poer. On average, it takes around 114 seconds to this factory to build one Tank 500 model.
In a few years, GWM plan to increase the production capacity to 180,000 units per year by hiring more stuff (2,700 people this year) and extending the model line. By the end of the 2023, a total of 6 models will be manufactured there. They are Tank 500, GWM King Kong Poer, GWM Shanhai Poer, Wey Gaoshan, Tank 400 and Haval H5. And the Haval H5 has already hit the production line here. So, GWM has two more models to launch.
At the ceremony of the production launch of the Haval H5, GWM underlined their ambitions for the production volume of the H5 by showing that it is the “0000001” vehicle on the production line. So, GWM hinted that it wants to produce at list 1 million units of the H5. Currently, the demand in this type of cars in China is growing. But most of the clients prefer to buy PHEVs, while the H5 currently has only petrol-powered powertrains. We may guess that GWM has big plans for overseas markets with this model since it has a low price tag. So, it will be desirable in South America, the Middle East, Russia and other markets. But if GWM wants to maintain a good sales number in China, they need to add a PHEV option to the Haval H5.
Briefly on Haval H5
As mentioned, the Haval H5 is a full-size body-on-frame SUV with dimensions 5190/1905/1835 mm and a wheelbase of 3140 mm. It is the biggest Haval SUV ever. For clarity, the H5 is 184 mm longer, 99 mm narrower and 70 mm lower that the Ford Explorer. It has a brawny exterior design with giant headlights and an enormous chrome-plated grille. Speaking about drawbacks of the H5, it is only available with 5 seats. You can’t get the third row of seats in this car. It is really odd since the H5 is a giant vehicle. It seems that GWM was afraid of the inner competition between the Haval H5 and much more expensive Tank 500.
Speaking about the powertrain of the H5, it has two options. The first is a 2-liter petrol-powered engine for 218 hp. And the second one is a 2-liter diesel engine for 166 horses. They work with 6MT or 8AT. As for the drive type of the Haval H5, it has a torque on demand all-wheel-drive system.
Source: Haval Weibo, Newaircloud, Hubei.gov
Keyword: GWM’s Haval H5 huge 5.2-meter SUV hit the production line in China