The official website of Great Wall Motor's Indian subsidiary is live now, implying that the brand is all set to launch its first product in the Indian market soon. For those who aren't aware, the Great Wall Motors (GWM) is a Chinese-origin carmaker that made its India debut at the 2020 Auto Expo. The Haval F7 SUV could be the first product of GWM in India. The brand has also recently trademarked the 'Jolion' nameplate in India.
While it is not officially confirmed, we suspect the brand may adopt the CBU or CKD route for our country, as the Maharashtra govt has suspended all its investments in the state due to the Indo-China border tensions. However, the GWM never wanted to sell imported products in India, at least in the initial phase. But the geopolitical issues forced the carmaker to change their plans for our country.
GWM was in the process of acquiring General Motor's Talegaon-based manufacturing plant as they intended to bring highly localized products to India. But it is not getting approval from government authorities to start manufacturing cars in India. Hence, the brand has reportedly considered taking a top-down approach by bringing its niche products first. And, once the brand will become well recognized, it will bring localized models.
About Haval F7
The Haval F7 is a 5-seater premium mid-sized SUV that will compete against the Jeep Compass, Tata Harrier, MG Hector, and Hyundai Tucson. Globally unveiled in 2018, the Haval F7 measures 4620mm in length and has a wheelbase of 2725mm. Compared to the Tata Harrier, it is 22mm longer and 35mm shorter than the MG Hector.
In terms of design, the F7 features a hexagonal grille with a honeycomb mesh pattern flanked by quad-LED headlamps with integrated DRLs. The other notable elements of the SUV include LED fog lamps, muscular yet sporty silhouette, sturdy wheel arches, wrap-around tail lamps, sloping rooflines, body-colored skid plate at both ends, etc.
The Haval F7 comes with two turbocharged petrol engines in the international market – 1.5-litre (150PS/280) and 2.0-litre (190PS/340Nm), paired with a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission as standard. Expect its India-spec model to get a manual transmission option as well as a diesel engine too.
