A number of electrified Chinese MPVs are already on sale in Malaysia, targeting the space where the Toyota Alphard and Vellfire play in.
Denza D9, Zeekr 009 and Xpeng X9 are a few examples, with the GAC M8 soon to go on sale.
Great Wall Motor (GWM) is also tossing its own into the ring.
The GWM Wey 80 was first previewed at the 2024 KL motor show last December and is a 7-seat plug-in hybrid. To be launched in Malaysia as the Wey G9 and locally assembled, it would certainly be priced much lower than the Toyota MPVs.
The model name change to Wey G9 was announced in a Facebook post by GWM Malaysia on Sept 9.
The Wey G9 is expected to feature a two-spoke steering wheel, a 12.3-inch digital cluster and a 15.6-inch infotainment touchscreen running Coffee OS 3.
A passenger-side display is omitted for the local market as a means to lower overall pricing.
In keeping with its premium positioning, the Wey G9’s second row gets two captain’s seats that would have new physical controls on the inner armrests.
It has a wheelbase of 3,085mm and overall length of 5,050mm for superior rear-cabin comfort.
The exterior is designed to be imposing with a huge chrome-framed grille and narrow LED headlights with DRLs. As with most cars nowadays, the rear comes with a light bar to emphasise its width.
The PHEV is equipped with a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine hooked up to dual electric motors – one for front and back.
The powertrain is good for 442 PS/642Nm. A 44.2kWh battery allows for a pure electric range of 170km (NEDC). Combined driving range is rated at up to 1,000km.
