GWM Steed Reviews

Affordable electric cars are an emerging market in Australia - and the timing couldn’t be better.

More crucial powertrain details for the incoming Ford Ranger plug-in hybrid have been revealed.

Utes are Australia’s most popular type of vehicle, but which models offer the best resale value when the time comes to selling them? CarsGuide’s analytics team crunched the numbers so that we could bring you this exclusive report. 

GWM has confirmed pricing, details and the release date of its incoming plug-in hybrid ute, the Cannon Alpha PHEV.Poised to arrive in showrooms by April, the new ute will carry a price tag of $63,990, drive-away, for the entry-level Lux, rising to $68,990, drive-away, for the fully-loaded Ultra.Depending on which state you live in, its starting price puts it at about $2000 to $4000 more expensive than the drive-away pricing of its key competitor in the BYD Shark 6, which starts nationally at $57,900, before on-road costs.Pricing remains unconfirmed on the incoming Ford Ranger PHEV, its next biggest competitor, but Ford Australia has said on record that it is aiming for a price tag of less than $70,000 when it arrives later this year.On both Cannon Alpha variants, power will be sourced from a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine (180kW/380Nm), with a single electric motor (120kW/400Nm), 37.1kWh ternary lithium battery and a nine-speed automatic transmission.All up, GWM claims total power and torque outputs of 300kW/750Nm, 21kW down on the Shark but with an extra 100Nm. This crucially means a 3500kg braked towing capacity.Under the NEDC cycle, pure electric range is rated at 110km with a total range of 880km. Both figures are 10 per cent higher than the BYD Shark 6.Fuel consumption, which is also certified under NEDC, is 1.7L/100km, exceeding the Shark 6’s 2.0L/100km rating, but falling short of Australia’s top-selling PHEVs in the Mitsubishi Outlander (1.5-litres/100km) and the BYD Sealion 6 (1.4-litres/100km).The Cannon Alpha PHEV provides full-time four-wheel drive, even when driving in EV mode; water wading depth is quoted at 800mm and maximum ground clearance is 224mm.A DC fast-charging rate of up to 50kW allows for a 30 to 80 per cent replenishment in 26 minutes, while a standard AC home charger will do the same charge in 6.5 hours.Vehicle-to-load functionality comes standard with a 3.3kW output, which is enough to power a camp fridge or air compressor.Standard features on the Lux include 18-inch alloy wheels, an electronic centre and rear locking differential, dual-zone climate control, a 12.3-inch digital driver's display and multimedia touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, synthetic leather seats and steering wheel, as well as LED headlights, running lights and taillights.The Ultra adds a front differential lock, a panoramic sunroof, a 14.6-inch multimedia display, a 60/40 split tailgate, a 10-speaker audio system, twin wireless charging pads, a head-up display, leather-accented seats, heated and ventilated front and rear outboard seats, as well as massage functions for the front seats.Both variants carry seven airbags, front and rear parking sensors, a surround-view camera, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep Assist, hill descent control, rear collision warning and autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with junction assist.A seven-year/unlimited km warranty applies to the GWM Cannon Alpha, along with an eight-year/unlimited km battery-pack warranty. Additionally, there is seven years of roadside assist and capped price servicing.Prices listed are national drive-away

If you think Chinese car brands can't teach Toyota, Ford or GM anything about making vehicles better, think again!

The GWM Cannon is now a more serious contender than ever.

Could Australia’s EV wars be about to hit another major milestone?

GWM’s new H7 SUV has been launched in South Africa, giving us a glimpse at what to expect ahead of its Australian launch later this year.

GWM is continuing its march as a top-ten car brand in Australia, with the Chinese automaker announcing key upgrades for its most popular ute.

Despite a backwards step in 2024, Chinese cars are on-track to bounce back in 2025 as a flood of new brands enter the market.While brands like BYD, MG, GWM and Chery have already established themselves, a new wave is on the way to challenge Japan as Australia’s biggest car importer.By the end of 2024 there were 12 Chinese brands officially in the Australian market and at least two more have announced plans for entry into our market in 2025 with more expected to follow. Japan, by contrast, only has nine brands in our local market but still comfortably leads the overall production with nearly 379,000 vehicles from Japan sold here in 2024.That compares to 272,139 from Thailand and 176,159 from China. Those figures don’t account for a brand’s national base but rather simply where they are built, so it includes certain Tesla, Volvo and other models from different brands.But while Japan and Thailand still lead the way as the most popular countries for new-car production, China appears on-course to overtake them in the not-too-distant future at the current rate.With the likes of Zeekr, Leapmotor, Deepal, XPeng, Geely, Smart, JAC, GAC/Aion, Jaecoo and more set to grow in 2025, plus expanded product lines from BYD, MG, GWM and Chery, the approximate 96,000 sales difference between China and Thailand could shrink dramatically this year.The industry is well aware of the rapid growth of the Chinese car industry in Australia, with Toyota Australia’s Head of Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations, Sean Hanley, commenting this week: “The Australian new-car market has always been one of the most competitive in the world, and 2025 will be no different. We expect to see more new brands and models, which means more choice and even stronger competition, which, in the end, is great for the consumer.“By all reports, there could be a dozen new Chinese car companies arriving in Australia by the end of next year. In the past five years, they have taken more than 13 percentage points of market share from established brands.”Hanley was quick to point out that while these new brands have taken significant market share, Toyota remains the clear leader.However, that growth must come from somewhere and that will force brands across the market to react to this new array of rivals. This is likely to result in increased competition for Australian buyers at a time when cost-of-living pressures are expected to cool the market after record sales in 2024.