Australians and Americans may be addicted to big SUVs, but Chinese new-car buyers are becoming increasingly fond of them too.
There’s a whole segment of SUVs in China more than 5.2 metres long, almost all of which have a ‘9’ in their name. And now there’s another entrant coming, the Wey V9X.
Wey is GWM’s premium brand, which will launch in Australia this year – albeit treated as a sub-brand, like Haval and Tank.
After being teased by Wey, the V9X has now appeared in Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) filings shared by CarNewsChina.
CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal.
The V9X is a properly large SUV, measuring 5299mm long, 2025mm wide and 1825mm tall on a 3150mm wheelbase.
For context, GWM’s Tank 500 – sized similarly to a Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series and offering three rows of seats itself – measures 5078mm long, 1934mm wide and 1905mm tall on a 2850mm wheelbase.
The V9X will debut the new GWM One architecture, a new “super platform” that’ll underpin everything from sedans and SUVs to utes and sports cars, and support a range of powertrain types including petrol, plug-in hybrid, diesel hybrid, electric and hydrogen fuel-cell.
The flagship Wey SUV, however, will reportedly use a plug-in hybrid powertrain featuring a 175kW turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine mated with an electric motor, for 0-100km/h times of between 4.4 and 4.7 seconds depending on the level of battery charge.
It’s also reported to feature an 800V electrical architecture, with the MIIT filing listing a maximum electric range of 363km and a nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery of an unspecified capacity sourced from SVOLT.
It’ll reportedly have three rows of seating, with a pair of second-row captain’s chairs and a third-row bench bringing the total number of seats to six. The interior has yet to be revealed, however.
Air suspension may be available, while the vehicle shown in MIIT filings appears to feature a LiDAR unit which will work in conjunction with the vehicle’s cameras and radar units to power the suite of active safety and driver assist technology.
The styling fits right in with other ‘9-class’ Chinese SUVs, with a long and boxy body featuring rounded edges, and full-width lighting elements front and rear.
The Wey V9X will enter a segment bustling with activity, with the recently revealed electric BYD Great Tang and the Xpeng GX electric and extended-range electric SUV joining the Aito M9, which is also offered as an EV or an EREV.
There are also the Denza N8L and N9, Lynk & Co 900, and Zeekr 9X plug-in hybrids, the IM LS9 EREV, and the Nio ES8 EV.
It’s unclear at this stage if an Australian launch is forthcoming for the new flagship Wey.
Established in 2016, the Wey brand currently tops out with the Lanshan (Blue Mountain) SUV – a plug-in hybrid three-row SUV measuring “only” 5156mm long.
It’s one of just three models currently offered under the Wey brand, with the other being the Gaoshan people mover (expected in Australia this year) and the Mocha, a medium-to-large PHEV crossover SUV.
MORE: Explore the GWM showroom