PHEV, petrol and full electric sectors ticked off.

THREE cars spanning the popular powertrain choices will represent for Chinese automotive manufacturer GAC when it launches here soon.

The brand - full name Guangzhou Automobile Group Motor Co - will take on the electric sector with the Aion V, a mid-size SUV featuring a 150kW motor fed by a 75kWh battery and up to 510km WLTP range. The type supports rapid DC charging and delivers 0-100kmh acceleration in 7.9 seconds.

GAC has a petrol model, in the shape of the GS3 Emzoom (below), also an SUV but contesting the compact class. It runs a 125kW/270Nm turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Also en route is the M8 (above), a seven-seat plug-in hybrid people mover, of the same genre as the Zeekr 009 and Wey G9 ‘Gaoshan’. The luxury people-mover category is one in which China’s industry has established an upper hand; the types are especially popular in Asia.

It takes a 2.0-litre turbopetrol engine making a combined 274kW and 630Nm. Its 25.57kWh battery provides up to 106km of electric-only driving range, but that’s under testing to China’s domestic WLTC regime, which doesn’t stand up well to international scrutiny.

Three additional models will come in 2026, though details of these future offerings have not been disclosed.

Likewise final specifications and pricing for all three models already signed off will be released closer to the December launch.

The company’s global portfolio includes three brands – Aion, GAC Trumpchi, and Hyptec – though all models will be marketed under the unified GAC nameplate in New Zealand.

GAC is China’s fifth-largest vehicle manufacturer. It produces and sells over two million vehicles annually.