Haval slashes prices

It may be one of China's top-selling SUV brands but Haval is a relative minnow in Australia, where it was launched in October last year and so far this year has sold about 60 vehicles.

In line with its ambitious plan to become Australia's biggest selling SUV brand and clear existing stock to make way for 2017 models, Haval Motors Australia today announced price cuts and drive-away pricing across its three-model SUV range.

"We are a young company, but a company that learns fast," said HMA managing director Parker Shi. "And we have learnt very quickly that Australian customers appreciate a good deal when they see it."

The deals include drive-away pricing for the small H2 and large H8 and H9 models, which are now priced between $23,990 and $49,990.

"We are continually monitoring feedback from dealers, the media and customers and this has resulted in our first ever drive-away pricing campaign," said Shi.

The entry-level Haval H2 Premium is pegged at $23,990 drive-away for the manual ($2500 less than its launch pricing of $26,490). The auto adds $1000 and all H2s come with plenty of standard equipment including 18-inch alloy wheels, sunroof, keyless entry and engine start, a 7.0-inch touch-screen plus reversing camera and proximity sensors.

The Haval H8 now starts at $38,990 drive-away for the RWD Premium model, which was priced at $41,990 at launch and comes with similar features to the H2 but adds a larger 8.0-inch touch-screen, sat-nav, a premium 10-speaker stereo, leather seat trim and a more powerful 160kW turbo-petrol engine.

Top of the tree is the Haval H9 Premium, a seven-seat large SUV that starts at an unchanged $46,490 (now drive-away) and includes "a rugged 4x4 drivetrain", along with tri-zone climate-control. The top-spec The H9 Luxury costs $49,990 (was $50,990) and adds a sunroof, an Infiniti stereo plus heated, ventilated and massaging leather seats.

Haval SUVs come with a five-year, 100,000km warranty bundled with free roadside assistance for five years.

"Our company motto is 'improve little by little every day'," said Shi. "We are confident this new pricing strategy will continue to improve our standing with local customers."

Haval will launch the mid-size H6 in July, followed by the slightly larger H7 in the second half of next year, 2017.

2016 Haval pricing (drive-away):
H2 Premium 4x2 manual -- $23,990
H2 Premium 4x2 auto -- $24,990
H2 Premium AWD manual -- $26,490
H2 Luxury 4x2 manual -- $25,990
H2 Luxury 4x2 auto -- $26,990
H2 Luxury AWD manual -- $28,490
H8 Premium 4x2 auto -- $38,990
H8 Premium AWD auto -- $41,990
H8 Luxury AWD auto -- $44,990
H9 Premium 4x4 auto -- $46,490
H9 Luxury 4x4 auto -- $49,990