CarBrandLogos archive · Haval · 2011

HavalH6

For most of a decade, the best-selling SUV in the largest car market on earth.

Photo: Zotyefan · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Haval history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Haval H6, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Great Wall's decision to spin its SUVs into a separate marque, Haval, was vindicated almost entirely by this one model. The H6 launched in 2011 as a conventional front-drive compact crossover with optional all-wheel drive, priced below the joint-venture competition and finished well enough that buyers did not feel they were settling.

2018 Great-Wall Haval H6, rear 8.3.18 · Kevauto · CC BY-SA 4.0

Design and engineering

It became the best-selling SUV in China for years running, at the point when Chinese buyers were switching to SUVs faster than any market ever had, and it did so against Volkswagen, Honda and Toyota products built locally. That single nameplate financed much of Great Wall's expansion.

2018 Great-Wall Haval H6 , front 8.3.18 · Kevauto · CC BY-SA 4.0

In production

Later generations moved to a modular platform, added turbocharged petrol engines, a dual-clutch gearbox and a hybrid drivetrain, and pushed the model into export markets across Southeast Asia, Australia, South America and South Africa, where it competes on equipment for the money. It remains Haval's central product.

2021 Haval H6 HEV Pro · Chanokchon · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance