GWM Haval Jolion Max for Australia: Q4 Launch With Hybrid and EV Reported, No Price Yet

Image credit: GWM. Overseas-market model shown; Australian specification not yet published.

GWM's Jolion small SUV is about to get a bigger sibling. The Haval Jolion Max is a larger, roomier take on the Jolion small SUV, and GWM describes it as a new entry point into its mid-size SUV range, positioned between the Jolion and the H6. Several Australian outlets have reported it for a local launch in the fourth quarter of 2026, with hybrid and electric versions.

Here is the catch, and it is the reason this piece reads a little differently from a normal launch story. As we write this on 1 October 2026, GWM Australia has not published anything about the Jolion Max for Australia. There is no model page on its website, no price, no grade list and no specification sheet. The one GWM statement we can find is written for New Zealand, and it names a different powertrain mix from the one reported here. So rather than repeat overseas brochure numbers as if they were Australian, we have split what GWM has said from what has been reported, and worked out what actually matters if you are shopping in this part of the market now.

What GWM Has Actually Published

GWM runs one website for Australia and New Zealand, and its news section carries releases for both countries. On 3 July 2026 it published a release headed "GWM unveils its broadest product and powertrain expansion plans as a new chapter begins". It says the Jolion Max is "arriving later in the year in both Hi4 Plug-in Hybrid and Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) variants", and that it will "introduce a new entry point into GWM's mid-size SUV range, positioned between the Jolion and the H6".

That release is plainly about New Zealand. It talks about giving "New Zealanders" more choice and frames the mid-size SUV push around growth "in New Zealand". It is useful because it is GWM's own wording about what the car is and where it sits, but it is not a statement about the Australian line-up, and we have not treated it as one.

On the Australian side, the picture as at 1 October is thin. GWM Australia's current Jolion page describes only the existing Jolion. The Upcoming Models entry in the site menu lists the all-new Haval H7 and nothing else. GWM's release about its Everything Electric stand in Sydney in September covered the Cannon PHEV and the Haval H7, not the Jolion Max. None of that means the car is not coming. It means GWM Australia has not yet put its name to a price, a date or a specification that we can quote.

What Has Been Reported for Australia

The Australian detail so far comes from motoring outlets, mostly from a GWM Australia media briefing in April. None of it appears on a GWM Australia page yet, so read everything in this table as reported, not confirmed.

The outputs are where the reports disagree, which is a good reason not to lean on them. One outlet has listed figures of 164kW and 482Nm for a Jolion Max hybrid, 238kW and 528Nm for a plug-in hybrid and 150kW and 260Nm for the electric version. Another expects the Australian hybrid to use the current Jolion's 140kW and 375Nm system instead. The second outlet expects the electric version to share the Ora 5's motor and battery, and the first outlet's electric figures match the Ora 5's motor, but GWM has not said so. Until GWM Australia publishes a spec sheet, nobody outside the company knows which hybrid system, if either, is coming here.

The same goes for price. Outlets have floated numbers based on where today's Jolion sits, but those are their estimates. We are not repeating a figure GWM has not published.

Hybrid or Plug-In? Why the Difference Matters

It would be easy to shrug at the mismatch between "hybrid and EV" in the Australian reports and "plug-in hybrid and EV" in GWM's New Zealand release. It is not a small thing for an Australian buyer, for two reasons.

The first is how you use it. A conventional hybrid never plugs in, so it suits someone with no off-street charging who mostly wants lower fuel use in traffic. A plug-in hybrid only pays its way if you charge it most days, and it usually costs more to buy. Those are different buyers, and GWM already covers the no-plug hybrid buyer with the Jolion Premium Hybrid and the H6 hybrid.

The second is tax, if you are thinking about a novated lease. As general information for the 2026-27 financial year: a battery-electric car can qualify for the electric car fringe benefits tax exemption when its value is below the luxury car tax threshold for fuel-efficient vehicles, which is $91,661 for 2026-27, and the other conditions are met. Plug-in hybrids first held on or after 1 April 2025 no longer qualify, and conventional hybrids never did. So whichever petrol-assisted version Australia gets, the electric Jolion Max would be the only one of them in line for the FBT exemption, subject to the usual conditions. Luxury car tax itself is very unlikely to be a factor for a car GWM positions below the H6, but GWM has not published a price, so check your own position with your lease provider or accountant once it does.

Where It Would Sit in a GWM Showroom

GWM's own positioning, between the Jolion and the H6, is the most useful thing we have, because we can price both ends of it. GWM quotes driveaway prices, not RRPs. The figures below are the ones on GWM Australia's offers page when we checked it on 1 October 2026, for private buyers in Victoria.

Two cautions on those numbers. GWM's page was still showing the Jolion offer price and the H6 extra-discount offer on 1 October even though it says both ended the day before, so ask a dealer for the current figure. Without its $3,000 saving the Jolion Premium HEV would be $32,990. And the H6 extra discount is one of two offers GWM lists for it, so it is not automatic.

Even allowing for that, the gap GWM is filling is wide. At the figures on GWM's offers page there is $11,000 between the Jolion Premium HEV and the H6 Lux HEV. That is a big step for a family that has outgrown a Jolion's boot but does not want to spend H6 money, and it is the most plausible reason the Max exists. Where in that range it lands, GWM has not said.

The electric side is less clear-cut. GWM already sells the Ora 5, which GWM Australia quotes with a 150kW and 260Nm motor, a 58.3kWh LFP battery and a driving range of up to approximately 430km on the WLTC cycle. If the Jolion Max EV does use that hardware, as has been reported, GWM will have two electric SUVs of similar size and power under one roof, one badged Ora and one badged Haval. How GWM prices them against each other is one of the more interesting open questions.

What the Extra Size Would Buy You

This is the part of the Jolion story where a bigger body makes an obvious difference. We list the current Jolion hybrid at 4,470mm long with a 255-litre boot, which is small for a family car; the petrol Jolion Premium and Lux we list at 337 litres. We list the H6 at 4,703mm with 560 litres. If the reported overseas length of 4,590mm carries over, the Max lands roughly in the middle, about 120mm longer than the Jolion and about 113mm shorter than the H6.

One outlet has reported a 362-litre boot for the overseas hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions, and more for the petrol and electric versions. If that holds for Australia, a Jolion Max hybrid would give roughly 100 litres more boot than the Jolion hybrid, which is a real difference once a pram or a week of school bags goes in. GWM Australia has not published a boot figure, so that is a reason to wait for the spec sheet, not a number to plan around.

The Cars It Would Have to Beat

Outside GWM, the obvious small hybrid SUV benchmark is the Toyota Corolla Cross GX Hybrid, which Toyota Australia lists at $37,440 before on-road costs. That is an RRP and GWM quotes driveaway, so on-road costs have to be added to the Toyota before the two can be lined up. We list the Corolla Cross at 4,460mm long with a 425-litre boot, which shows the kind of space a buyer in this bracket already expects.

On the electric side, the Jaecoo J5 EV Summit and GWM's own Ora 5 are the nearest things we list, and the MG ZS Excite Hybrid+ is another hybrid a Jolion Max hybrid would have to answer. We have not quoted prices for the J5 and ZS here because they are on different price bases; the comparison below shows the figures we list for each.

Safety and Warranty

ANCAP. We hold no ANCAP rating for the Jolion Max. The current Jolion's rating belongs to that car and does not carry across to a new, larger model, so treat the Max as no data until ANCAP publishes a result for it. If a rating matters to you, for a fleet policy or a young driver, that is worth waiting for.

Warranty. GWM Australia has not published warranty terms for the Jolion Max, and for the electric version that includes the battery warranty. Ask for both in writing when it goes on sale.

What GWM Australia Has Not Told Us Yet

• The Australian line-up. Hybrid and EV as reported, plug-in hybrid and EV as GWM told New Zealand, or something else.
• Prices and grades, and whether GWM will quote a separate ABN price as it does on other models.
• A launch date. The fourth quarter of 2026 has been reported, not published by GWM Australia.
• Outputs, fuel use and electric range for the Australian versions.
• Dimensions and boot space for the Australian car.
• Charging speeds for the EV, and whether it has vehicle-to-load like the Ora 5.
• Towing capacity, warranty and ANCAP.
• Whether it replaces anything. Nobody has said whether the Max sells alongside both current Jolion versions or eventually pushes one out.

Should You Wait for It?

Waiting makes sense if the current Jolion is the right price but the wrong size, particularly the hybrid with its small boot, and you do not need a car before the end of the year. The Max is being pitched at exactly that buyer, and you lose little by seeing what GWM publishes first. It also makes sense if you want a Haval-badged EV and are weighing up the Ora 5, since the two may end up close in size and price.

Waiting makes less sense if you need a car now, if you want a plug-in hybrid specifically (GWM Australia's reported comments named only hybrid and electric versions), or if you need an ANCAP rating from day one. Today's Jolion, H6 and Ora 5 are known quantities with prices you can check.

We will update this story when GWM Australia publishes Australian prices and specifications, and add the confirmed grades to the CarSorted directory. If you are pricing a current GWM in the meantime, the offers GWM runs change month to month, and our deals page tracks them.