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Here’s a little peek behind the curtain for you.
During a media launch event for a new car, journalists will often be presented with information about the new model and given the opportunity to ask questions of engineers and executives.
Normally, the brand hosting the launch will make little mention of competitors, but GWM’s presentation and discussion around the new Cannon Alpha plug-in hybrid (PHEV) ute was packed with mentions of the BYD Shark 6 and the incoming Ford Ranger PHEV.
The reason? The specs war is already rife.
BYD’s plug-in hybrid ute already has plenty of examples on the road, but it’s been criticised for poor off-road performance due to its electronic AWD system and its 2500kg of braked towing capacity.
The Ranger PHEV’s 3500kg braked towing and 937kg payload are both solid figures appropriate for the class.
The Cannon Alpha can also tow 3500kg, boasts a mechanical 4WD system, but has a disappointing 685kg payload rating. GWM went all-in on another aspect of the PHEV ute game: range.
Its claimed range, albeit under optimistic NEDC testing, is 115km of electric driving. The Shark 6 offers up 100km under the same NEDC testing. And Ford? The Ranger claims 49km, also under NEDC testing estimates.
GWM Australia backs the Cannon Alpha as being “Australia’s class-leading PHEV ute” even while acknowledging the payload rating.
And there’s another oddity when it comes to the Cannon Alpha because of its large battery, the spare tyre wouldn’t fit under the tray and subsequently now sits within it.
GWM ANZ Head of Marketing and Communications Steve Maciver told media the brand is confident the Cannon Alpha will meet its buyers requirements, while pointing out the challenges that come with being “one of the pioneers in this market”.
“There’s one of two ways you can go about developing a vehicle and bringing a vehicle to market. BYD has gone down their route. That's their decision. We've gone down our route,” Maciver said.
“We're very, very much embedded in the fact that we believe a ute, regardless of the powertrain, has to deliver on some core USPs and deliverables.
“If you take the powertrain out of the equation, the conversation that everyone including yourselves I’m sure, most of the time in the ‘cons’ column with any review would be, ‘it's only got three-ton towing’.
“And it was certainly the same when we had three-ton towing in Cannon.
“So we've listened to that feedback from the media, from our customers, from our dealers, and we developed three-and-a-half tonne.
“It would be remiss of us not to bring three-and-a-half tonne regardless of what the powertrain is on this new model. So we've done that,” he said
During the presentation, plenty was made of the fact the Cannon Alpha uses a mechanical 4X4 system, with diff-locks and the ability to use 4H or 4L modes depending on the situation.
Again the BYD Shark was mentioned, this time for the videos circulating of its off-road behaviour due to its physical limitations.
“We also know that four-wheel-driving is a huge part of Australian life - not everyone does it every day, but the majority of people that buy 4X4 utes… many of them never make it off road but it’s the promise and the opportunity to do so is why 4X4 utes are far and away a bigger portion of the share than 4X2,” Maciver said.
“So again, it would be remiss of us not to bring the right technology we already have available to us in that segment.”
The Shark was mentioned so many times that I began a rough tally in my notes, but lost count. GWM's not shying away from it, as being BYD’s rival became the centre of conversation.
“Now we're quite rightly going to be compared against Shark. Shark was first to market. You're probably asking us the question. You know the answer to that. Every review that comes up about Canon Alpha or piece of news is a reference to Shark,” Maciver noted.
“We feel hand on heart, looking you in the eye, we've got a better proposition. We do have a better vehicle.
“We're going to market focusing on our USPs. Those USPs are absolutely clear, that's regardless of what anyone else has done in market. We're very confident about the positioning of it.
Respectfully to BYD, they've done a great job in launching that car and they got some good volume out of that car very, very quickly.
“So we feel that certainly being second to market with a car… we feel now is our time when we've got a car that can absolutely take the fight not just to the BYD Shark but the Ford Ranger PHEV as well. We’re very, very confident in what we’ve got.”
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