Focusing on the Intelligent Modular Architecture used by the Jolion and H6, it was developed over the span of five years. Not only is it lightweight, flexible, and safe, but it’s designed to be electrified from the get-go. Thus, for the Philippine market, GWM is taking a different approach by offering not one, but two hybrid electric powertrains.

The first, found in the Jolion HEV combines a normally-aspirated 1.5-liter 4-cylinder engine with two electric motors giving a combined 186 horsepower and 375 Nm of torque. The second one, used in the H6 HEV pairs a turbocharged 1.5-liter 4-cylinder with two electric motors for a total of 240 horsepower and 530 Nm of torque. In both cases, power is stored in a 1.8-kWh lithium-ion battery pack improving its overall fuel efficiency by up to 50 percent.

The GWM hybrid system allows it to be used in three modes: EV, series hybrid, and parallel hybrid modes. It’s completely battery-driven at startup, but switches to series mode—where the gasoline and electric motor act together—at low and medium speeds. The engine generates electricity and that electricity is fed to the electric motor which, in turn, drives the wheels. At higher speeds or when the combustion engine is at its most efficient, it takes over the roll of providing tractive effort, while the electric motor plays an auxiliary role and will even collect kinetic energy to be stored in the lithium-ion battery.

Compared to other hybrid systems which tend to use CVTs or dual clutch gearboxes, the GWM hybrid uses a Dedicated Hybrid Transmission or DHT. Essentially, it’s an improvement to Honda’s direct drive system used in its i-MMD. Here, it a two-speed gearbox with a fixed shaft. It actually uses the electric motor to make the shift imperceptible by temporarily taking over the drive while the synchronizer completes the speed adjustment before handing the power back to the combustion engine. This allows for a quicker intervention of the combustion engine when needed.

So far, Luxuriant Auto Group hasn’t revealed the pricing of any of its vehicles, but they did mention the words, “realistic pricing” during its official preview. Potentially, it could mean a price of around P 1.5 million for the Jolion HEV and P 1.9 million for the H6 HEV.

While those prices seem fair for the technology, for those who potentially find the HEV still a bit too prohibitive, GWM is also offering a purely combustion engine version of the Jolion as its entry-level model. This version makes 156 horsepower and 220 Nm of torque mated to a 7-speed dual clutch transmission.

Plans are underway to open their first showroom along UN Avenue with a public launch happening at the Manila International Auto Show in April.