Haval’s Two Beijing Concepts Have Australian Focus

Last week at the 2016 Beijing Auto Show, Chinese automaker Haval did more than just take the wraps off its newest production SUV, the H7, but also took the occasion to show off some design chops.

They come in the form of the Haval HR-02 (compact SUV) and HB-02 (mid-size SUV) concepts. Those names are nothing to shout about but the SUVs themselves look rather good and mostly free from the usual concept tropes that instantly give away their unlikelihood to reach showrooms.Nearly nothing is mentioned about what is under those hoods but given their dimension, the recently introduced combination of 170kW/355Nm 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol and Getrag-sourced six-speed dual clutch transmission from the H7 should be more than adequate for them.Haval does reveal that the HB-02 (the silver one) is powered by “an advanced hybrid engine”, which is even more intriguing as a technical achievement than the list of powertrain and safety upgrades fitted to their H7.According to HAVAL design chief Pierre Leclercq, the HB-02’s design and features were decided with Australian customers in mind.He said: “We start with good proportions, ensuring the vehicle looks wide enough and that we maintain enough delta between the wheels and glass to add muscle.“We make sure we continue to improve the quality of everything we do. We work every day with our engineers to improve fit and finish down to the tiniest millimeter to produce the best possible SUVs we can for our Australian customers.”For a relatively new company to the global automotive scene, Haval (itself a brand under Great Wall Motors) is one of the forerunners in capturing the broader audience through export markets – Australia being one of them.Their new H7 will be reaching Australia some time in later in 2016.