They’re back in the fight. Great Wall Motors filed for a new beast, the Wey V8x. It’s an all-electric SUV. Large. Meant for China’s high-end buyers who demand power.
Forget the hybrids for a second. Remember the V9x? That big three-row plug-in rivaling the Aito M9? Well, the V8x is the smaller brother. Initially, we thought it was a hybrid too. The GWM One platform can handle HEVs and BEVs alike, so confusion is understandable. But here is the twist: the electric variant is the one hitting the filings this July.
Why? Because 724 horsepower leaves little reason to wait for the hybrid to warm up.
Power From Opposite Corners
The motor setup is… mixed. Literally. The front unit comes from UAES, a Bosch-backed manufacturer. Model number YS220QY543 or whatever—it pumps out 220 kW. Not bad. Not thrilling. Then look at the rear. GWM’s own Svolt subsidiary provides the QT70TZ2001 motor. That thing puts out 320 kW.
Together they scream 540 kW total.
You get 724 combined hp. A top speed of 22 km/h is listed, which feels generous given the weight, but GWM seems confident. Or maybe just aggressive. The car measures 5 meters long. Five meters! That’s a lot of vehicle in a tight Chinese traffic lane. Width is 2,02 mm, height varies between 1,808 mm and 182 mm depending on the trim you choose. The wheelbase stretches 2,96 mm.
Five seats. Just five.
You lose the third row to gain… what? Space. Legroom. The chance to dominate a highway.
Eyes Wide Open
Styling is electric-coded. Closed front end. No grille needed, so why have one? There’s an active air intake to cool things down though, so the nose isn’t entirely sealed. It’s practical. Boring? Maybe. But it works.
The lights are the highlight. Two headlamps linked by a strip of LED. Standard now, I guess. But on the roof, there’s LiDAR. Autonomous driving ambitions are still alive in Great Wall. They aren’t ditching tech for simplicity.
The handles? Traditional. Pull them out. Physical buttons are dead, but door handles seem immune to that particular apocalypse. In the rear, a single taillight bar spans the width. It’s cohesive. Clean.
“The V-series will include HEV variants… however, the BEV is the headline now.”
There are three wheel choices. 20s. 21s. A larger 21 with thinner tires. The approach angle is 19 degrees, departure is 2. It’s an SUV that looks like it could climb a curb and pretend to be off-road capable. You probably wouldn’t want to actually go off-road, though. These things are built for speed. For status. For the highway.
They are positioning it against the heavy hitters. Zeekr 9x. Aito M9. The V8x isn’t trying to be an underdog. It has the size. It has the power. It has the LiDAR.
The market doesn’t need another SUV.
Does it though?
People buy them anyway. Great Wall knows this. The filings are public now. The car is real. It sits at the top of the pile waiting for a price tag and a launch date that will likely surprise no one who expects GWM to move fast.
