GWM launches Australian tuning program with Haval H6 as first cab off the rank

GWM has launched AT-1, a locally focused vehicle development program designed to tune its cars specifically for Australian and New Zealand conditions. The first vehicles built under the program are now in dealerships.

AT-1 - pronounced "At One" - is an ongoing engineering philosophy rather than a one-off update. It covers ride and handling calibration, steering feel, driver assistance systems and towing performance, with the Haval H6 the first model to go through the process.

The program is led by Rob Trubiani, a veteran engineer with previous senior roles at Holden and HSV. His team conducted extensive local testing across urban, regional and rural environments to develop the H6's new setup.

The calibration work involved developing five distinct tunes across the H6's powertrain range, covering petrol, HEV 2WD, HEV AWD, PHEV 2WD and PHEV AWD variants. That required around 24 front damper tunes, 40 rear damper tunes, and thousands of individual steering data point adjustments.

Petrol, HEV 2WD and PHEV 2WD variants are now available at dealers. HEV AWD and PHEV AWD versions are to follow shortly.

GWM says the program is designed as a continuous loop - vehicles will be refined over time rather than receiving a single update. Insights from the ANZ market will also feed back into GWM's global R&D, with engineering teams from China already working alongside Trubiani locally.

GWM COO John Kett said the company wants its ANZ operation recognised as a hub of engineering innovation, not just a sales market.

For buyers, AT-1 is essentially GWM's answer to a long-standing criticism of Chinese-brand vehicles in Australia - that they're not properly sorted for local roads. Whether the H6's updated tune delivers a meaningfully better drive is something reviewers will put to the test.