China's new Kia Carnival rival locked in

A new filing with the Department of Infrastructure confirms a new Chinese brand is about to launch in Australia.

It shows GAC is preparing its M8 luxury people mover.

It also confirms the M8's status as a plug-in hybrid (PHEV), which could shake up the people-mover space that has traditionally been dominated by petrol and diesel power.

The M8 is a seven-seater, measuring in at 5212mm long, 1893mm wide, and 1823mm high, making it slightly longer and taller but not as wide as the segment-dominating Carnival.

Little else can be said about the Australian-spec vehicle other than it will have a 2.0-litre engine and be approved in two variants, currently called GL and GX.

The M8 has long been touted as a possibility for GAC as it is currently available in right-hand drive for the Thai market, where it is equipped with a 2.0-litre turbo PHEV powertrain. The engine produces 140kW/330Nm, while the electric motor produces 134kW/300Nm. They are blended inside a dedicated hybrid transmission system. It can sprint from 0-100km/h in Thai-spec in 8.8 seconds.

A relatively large 25.5kWh battery pack grants it up to 120km of range (according to the lenient NEDC measurement), with a total claimed combined range of 1032km thanks to a 56 litre fuel tank. It has a DC charging capability of 40kW, allowing for a 30 - 80 per cent charge in half an hour.

It features a vehicle-to-load system outputting at up to 3.3kW.

The seat layout offers two in the front row, two in the second row in large chairs, with three across the third row.

The Thai right-hand drive car is offered in just one maxed-out trim level, starting from the equivalent of $116,662 before on-roads, although the Australian car being approved in more variants suggests there could be a significant price difference.

In China, the PHEV M8 can be had from as low as the equivalent of A$61,000 and has a wider range of specification available.

Also recently listed in the vehicle descriptor database from GAC is the Aion V — the fully electric mid-size SUV the brand said it would launch in Australia with some time ago.

The descriptor confirms it will be a single-motor front-drive set-up, and if the right-hand drive vehicle also sold in Thailand is anything to go by, it will produce 150kW/240Nm with a 75.2kWh battery offering a 602km range (again, according to the NEDC cycle).

The company has previously confirmed these two models and the GAC Emzoom for an Australian launch - which is a combustion small SUV powered by a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine driving the front wheels via a dual-clutch automatic. This vehicle is yet to appear in the road vehicle descriptor database - it would be a rival to the Chery Tiggo 4, MG ZS, and Haval Jolion.

GAC has a range of other vehicles which could be interesting for the Australian market, like its flagship GS8 SUV which would rival the Toyota Kluger, paired with its ES9 PHEV spin-off.

Watch this space for more on GAC’s launch plans in Australia, with the original launch planned for mid-2025 pushed back.