Recently, Great Wall Motors (GWM) declared its upcoming SUV called Raptor (Menglong – 猛龙) under its Haval brand on the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The internal code name of the car is B26, and it is positioned as an off-road SUV equipped with GWM’s Hi4 plug-in hybrid system (Hybrid Intelligent 4WD). The car was previously declared as “Xianglong” (翔龙), but this time it was renamed as “Raptor”.
Additionally, the declared information indicated that the new car has multiple names, perhaps equivalent to multiple versions, as indicated by the logo on the rear. In addition to the “Raptor” logo, it also includes names such as “Veyron” (威龙), “Big Dog PRO”, and “Thunderbolt Dog” (霹雳狗).
Overall, Haval Raptor has a hard-core off-road design. The front grille is composed of three silver hollow bars decorated with rivets. The HAVAL logo is displayed in the middle and round retro headlights are on both sides. The square rear has two oval taillights on each side, a side-opening door design, and a spare tire, which is a typical off-road element. The rear is also equipped with an optional tow hook.
Power will come from GWM’s Hi4 plug-in hybrid system consisting of a 1.5T engine model GW4B15E with a maximum power of 123 kW, an 80 kW front motor, and a 150 kW rear motor, mated to a 2-speed DHT. The battery pack will be lithium iron phosphate type, however, the cruising range has not been revealed at this time.
Haval Menglong measures 4680/1916/1822mm, and the wheelbase is 2738mm, adopting a five-seater layout. Other design elements include roof luggage racks and traditional door handles instead of pop-out door handles. Haval Raptor also offers a variety of sensor options: front radar, side camera, and rear radar.
The car runs on either 18-inch or 19-inch multi-spoke wheels.
Sum Up
In the first half of 2023, Haval brand’s cumulative sales reached 292,600 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 1.29%, of which June sales were 59,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 15.08%. Furthermore, the top three best-selling models in June were Haval H6, Haval Big Dog, and Haval Xiaolong MAX, with sales of 14,267, 10,718, and 6,098 units, respectively. Will the Raptor’s introduction into the Haval’s Dragon series further improve sales performance?
Source: Chinese MIIT, 163
Chinese brands are so bad at naming their cars.. Raptor? Really, as in Ford Ranger? Veyron? As in Bugatti? Just ridiculous..