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The Chinese brand – aka Great Wall Motors – is following a very familiar path that General Motors brand Holden did. In a signal of further intent from the Chinese car giant that has been in the Australian market for 17 years, the company is in the midst of discussions to put down permanent roots at Holden’s old playground, the Lang Lang proving ground in Victoria. The brand already has a ‘residency’ at the Lang Lang testing facility, but GWM chief technology officer, Nicole Wu, recently told media that it is looking to do what many Australians are – to make a shift from renting to buying – with the iconic 877-hectare site in its sights. “Yes, we are considering to purchase this [proving] ground,” Ms Wu said. “Even if we don’t buy it, we can use [the proving ground]. “But yes, if we buy it, it will be an advantage to make very good [cars], [it will be] useful [for us]. We are considering [buying Lang Lang] sincerely – we need to consider it as a business case,” she said. MORE: China EV giant busted in secret Aussie act The current owner, Vietnamese car company Vinfast, bought it from General Motors in 2020, but has abandoned much of its intent with the testing paradise located halfway between Melbourne and Philip Island, putting it back on the market a year later, but it hasn’t attracted a lot of interest to this point. “To be honest, we are negotiating the price. It’s not expensive compared with what we have in China and other countries – we just need to evaluate the business [case],” Ms Wu said. “Currently we can use this proving ground, we can do testing inside. [But] we also test vehicles outside the proving ground, on public roads, then we also have facilities in China.” The Lang Lang proving ground still plays host to the same lumps, bumps, corners and climbs that made Holdens some of the best driving cars in the market. It has a few more kangaroos today than it did back in those days thanks to a years-long lull, but in recent months a number of brands have hosted events there. It’s seen as a handy location because it gives car journos (and engineers alike) the chance to drive vehicles that aren’t road-registrable – either because they’re imported left-hand-drive examples, or pre-production vehicles not yet ready for the showroom floor. GWM is seemingly eager to lock it down as a home base in Australia, and that may mean locking out other car companies in the process. The reason, according to the brand, is to make its own models as good as they can be – they even hired the guy behind the VE and VF Commodore models, automotive engineer Rob Trubiani. The local program that Trubiani has developed is known as AT1 for Australian Tune 1, but also a clever acronym to remind you that the brand wants you to feel “at one” with the car you’re driving. So far, Trubiani has left his fingerprints on the GWM Haval H6 PHEV, which drives vastly differently to the untuned H6. More responsive steering, better dynamics and an improved level of ride comfort and communication to the driver means it feels more like a GM than a GWM product. The hardware changes for that model go into production from November. MORE: ‘Simple’ test most Aussie drivers can’t pass “It’s an enormous opportunity for me personally, I guess, to shape a brand’s feel. And as a vehicle dynamicist, you can’t ask for much more,” said Trubiani. “Being charged with tuning the range of our cars is enormous, and a very exciting opportunity; one I couldn’t pass up,” he said, having been in the role for just over half a year, testing everything that GWM has to offer across its multiple sub-brands, but also getting behind the wheel of potential future models from the business. GWM has confirmed that it plans to introduce half-a-dozen new models in the 2026 calendar year, including the addition of another sub-brand, Wey, which is considered to be akin to Lexus or Genesis. That’s alongside the current brand model lines Ora, Haval, Tank and Cannon. “It obviously presents today mutual opportunity for both of us to push growth in the company. GWM has really been on this steady path of growth consistently for many years now, and I wanted to be part of that,” said Mr Trubiani. Ms Wu reckons that Trubiani’s influence will be evident in the product. “We are lucky to have him; I think he’s a legend. He’ll help us to know what the Australian requirements [are], and help us to fine-tune our vehicles to make them even better for local people.”
