GWM is rolling out a new ‘super platform’ that will support everything from combustion power to hydrogen fuel-cell powertrains, and both body-on-frame and unibody vehicles – and even a sports car.
The Chinese automaker has previewed one of the vehicles that’ll use the new GWM One architecture, a large (around 5.3m-long) SUV for its premium Wey brand which Chinese media reports will launch this year.
The architecture will underpin hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric, and hydrogen fuel-cell powertrains, as well as traditional internal combustion power.
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“It may sound dynamic and complex, but in reality they simplify complexity. The real value of this innovation is a return to simplicity,” said GWM chairman Jack Wey.
“Thanks to multiple powertrain options, we have expanded our market reach. For example, it can be equipped with large-displacement engines to meet the demands of the Arab markets.”
Within those GWM One-based vehicles with combustion power, there’ll be some with transversely mounted engines and others with longitudinally mounted engines.
Plug-in hybrids will use GWM’s new 800V Super Hi4 powertrain, with a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, a four-speed Direct Hybrid Transmission, and a 270kW rear electric motor.
GWM claims fuel consumption of 6.3L/100km when the battery is depleted, and 363km of electric range with 1393km of total range – these figures are based on the WLTC cycle, and in a large SUV.
Hybrids will use new Hi4 hybrid powertrains, with GWM claiming PHEV-rivalling levels of performance, fuel consumption up to 14.4 per cent lower than ‘conventional’ hybrids, and available features like a nap mode, sentry mode, and vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability.
GWM will also introduce diesel hybrids, claimed to reduce 0-100km/h acceleration times by up to 40 per cent compared with conventional diesels, while offering combined-cycle fuel consumption nine per cent lower than petrol hybrids.
Electric GWM One vehicles will feature a 900V electrical architecture, providing a range of over 660km and the ability to charge their batteries from empty to 80 per cent in 10 minutes, claims GWM.
The GWM One architecture will be used across 50 models across seven “core vehicle categories”, and in announcing it, the company showed off the silhouettes of boxy SUVs, people movers and a ute, as well as a sleeker crossover SUV and a sports car.
It’ll even underpin sedans, a body style GWM is surprisingly averse to for a Chinese automaker, while GWM One-based vehicles will be sold in markets such as Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region.
Mr Wey says the GWM One platform “achieves a high level of component commonality, making vehicles easier to maintain with higher resale value”.
MORE: Explore the GWM showroom