It was as inevitable as it was overdue.
GWM’s appointment of Rob Trubiani as product engineering manager is the most significant news to hit the car industry in some time. Why? Because it combines the strength of the Chinese car industry, with more than two decades of local knowledge, the kind of local knowledge that made Holden so beloved for so long.
If it hasn’t set alarm bells off in the halls of the biggest brands in Australia, including Toyota, then those companies may find themselves in trouble in the next decade. It was only a matter of time before one of these countless new Chinese car brands took the plunge and hired a local expert to help fine-tune the ride and handling of its products for Australian buyers.
READ MORE: New ‘luxury on a budget’ brand arrives in Australia
While it may sound like an esoteric detail, as the way a car rides and handles is typically fussed about by petrolheads and motoring journalists, but in the real-world every new car driver notices in their own subtle ways. It’s a bit like how you don’t need to be an actor or a movie critic to know whether the movie you’re watching is good or bad, a good car will just win you over without you knowing precisely why.
Don’t take my word for it either, just look at the sales growth both Hyundai and Kia enjoyed once they started undertaking local ride and handling programs about 15 years ago. Kia went from an afterthought for many buyers to a steady presence in the top five brands alongside Toyota, Ford and Mazda.
READ MORE: GWM Tank 300 Ultra Hybrid review
Trubiani is not a well-known name outside of motoring circles, but he worked at Holden for nearly 25 years and played an instrumental role in the development of the VE and VF Commodores. He is an expert in chassis, suspension and steering tuning and that is precisely what GWM needs.
Like all Chinese brands, GWM has significant resources and support to make its mark on the Australian market. But what none of them have had, until now, is the local expertise to really take the next step and earn customers through quality vehicles, not just affordable ones.
Whether you’re a fan of Chinese-made vehicles or not, Australians are buying them by the boatload, with China now our third largest vehicle importer. And, again, whether you like it or not, the Chinese government is supporting its automotive industry in a bigger way than Australia ever did, which is allowing it to undercut its Japanese, South Korean and European rivals. There are now so many Chinese brands in Australia it’s hard to keep up, just this week Chery (which has only been here since 2023) announced it’s launching a more premium spin-off, Omoda-Jaecoo, to compete against the other newcomers that include (but aren’t limited to) Geely, Deepal, Zeekr, Leapmotor, BYD and so on.
READ MORE: You may not know the name, but this car brand cannot be ignored
GWM is already one of the biggest Chinese brands in Australia, trailing only MG in overall sales. While GWM has many different brands in its domestic market, it has wisely taken the approach to keep them under the same ‘GWM’ banner in Australia, but it has the Cannon utes, Haval SUVs, Ora electric vehicles and Tank off-roaders from across its portfolio already on Australian roads. Even without any local knowledge GWM has managed to work its way into the top 10 selling brands in Australia in 2024.
Adding Holden expertise to this mix of a broad portfolio and deep pockets is a recipe for a compelling showroom in years to come. While Toyota is arguably pretty comfortable with its sales margin, every other brand in the top 10 should be looking over its shoulder at GWM.
Nissan and Isuzu are directly ahead of it, and both face uncertain futures (albeit for very different reasons), so there’s a strong chance GWM will continue its climb in 2025.
It might take Trubiani’s real impact a few years to be felt too, but if GWM management in China listens to him, there’s no reason to think the company could be making the most ‘Australian-ised’ new cars within the next few years. And when that happens, good luck to the competition.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the news is how long it took one of the Chinese brands to step up. Now the question becomes, who’s next? MG… BYD… Chery…?
Discussion about this post