GAC is already locally optimising its cars

Incoming Chinese challenger GAC has revealed its ambitious plans for Australia, aiming to top 33,000 annual sales by 2028. The secret? Locally optimised vehicles and elite customer satisfaction.

Close to a dozen Chinese brands are entering Aussie showrooms, and competition is intensifying between new challengers and the established heavyweights.

GAC will officially launch in Australia on November 18, promising “impressive” products, top-tier customer service, and some reasonably sharp – but not the sharpest – pricing to stand out from the competition.

A key component in delivering product that Australian consumers will accept is the brand’s market optimisation efforts which, while not as in-depth as Kia, Hyundai, or GWM’s local tuning programs, will see all inbound models tuned (chassis and driver aids) to suit our local conditions.

“We have already done some adjustments for the car,” GAC deputy general manager Cheney Liang told carsales, revealing the inbound AION V electric medium SUV was tested locally roughly 12 months ago.

“And then because at this stage we are just coming to the Australian market, we elect to have our technician people and R&D people … help us to develop the new car which can meet the Australian consumers’ needs.”

Liang went on to say the brand needed more time to gain a better understanding of these local consumer needs and that the feedback gained would be used to further hone the Australia-bound models.

The first models destined for showrooms are the AION V, the turbo-petrol EMZOOM small-medium SUV, and M8 plug-in hybrid people carrier.

Expect prices undercutting Korean, European, and Japanese competitors, but not all Chinese rivals.

Two more models are due next year, followed by another three in 2027 – by then, Liang hopes to be on track for 33,000 vehicles per annum.

A healthy portfolio of locally optimised, well-priced products is only half of the picture.

For Liang and the Australian team, the other half is ensuring top-tier customer service.

“GAC is not the company that always has the lowest price, we are not winning the competition by the price,” he said.

“Always, we focus on the quality... the quality of the product itself, also the quality of the service: sales service and aftersales service, and the quality of the dealer management and the quality of dealer profitability.

“We want the Australian customer to feel the quality for these different areas… but I believe this takes time.”

Less than a fortnight out from its national launch, GAC is confident it will resonate with local consumers and plans to have 90 dealerships operating by the end of 2028.

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