Exclusive Interview: GWM Australia COO John Kett Reveals Insider Insights

Over the past decade, GWM has transformed from a value-focused challenger brand into one of the fastest-growing automotive brands in Australia and New Zealand.

Today GWM offers everything from diesel utes to hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and battery-electric vehicles across the Haval, Tank, Cannon and Ora brands, and is firmly targeting a place among the top-five auto brands in both markets.

During a wide-ranging interview with CarExpert, GWM Australia and New Zealand chief operating officer John Kett discussed the company’s rapid growth, its local engineering program, why diesel still has a future, the brand’s upcoming V8, and how GWM plans to stand apart in an increasingly crowded market.

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GWM is now in its 18th year in Australia and New Zealand. It’s grown from an unknown challenger brand into a mainstream player. What’s been the biggest driver behind that success?

I think it started around 10 years ago when we became a true sales company managing the business ourselves. At that point we were targeting price points that many manufacturers had abandoned.

We were able to bring small SUVs to market that offered plenty of space, good technology and strong value, giving customers an alternative to buying a used vehicle.

As time has gone on, it hasn’t just been about price. We’ve continued to improve the quality, durability and warranty behind our vehicles, while evolving our technology across the range.

Today, when we talk about our ambition to become a top-five brand – and ultimately a top-three brand – we believe the only way to achieve that is to be competitive across every powertrain.

We want to be top five in petrol and diesel, top five in hybrid, top five in plug-in hybrid, and top five in electric vehicles.

That means understanding customers as well as we can and giving them technology that suits their lifestyle. Where they live, how they use their vehicle, whether it’s for work or family, and ultimately what fits their budget.

We’ve been able to offer that across each of those areas, and that’s become a defining part of who GWM is.

Internally, we often say, “You have permission to be GWM.”

We’re not trying to be known purely as an EV brand or purely as a plug-in hybrid brand. We want to be all of those things. The focus is on delivering what customers actually need and backing it up with a continually improving ownership experience.