In a poignant sign of the times, GWM has taken up permanent residency at the former General Motors proving ground in Lang Lang, where it will continue to conduct Australian chassis tuning for its entire model range under the direction of ex-Holden engineering guru Rob Trubiani.
Underlining the Chinese automaker’s position as one of the few brands to conduct local product development these days – alongside the likes of Ford and Kia – GWM says the move will ensure its vehicles “are optimised not just for performance, but for the comfort, confidence, and control that Australian and New Zealand drivers expect”.
GWM, which wants to be a top-five auto brand Down Under, said the Lang Lang Proving Ground, as it’s now known, “will form the cornerstone of a comprehensive localisation strategy, enabling GWM to engineer dedicated ride and handling packages, undertake full vehicle integration, and execute precision tuning across its growing product portfolio”.
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The fast-growing brand is the only automaker to become a permanent resident of the proving ground since GM sold the historic purpose-built facility 95km southeast of Melbourne to Vietnamese automaker VinFast in September 2020, as part of its decision to kill off the Holden brand following the end of Australian manufacturing in 2017.
VinFast remains the owner of the sprawling 877-hectare facility, which was opened in 1957 and has been used to test every locally produced Holden since the FC of 1958, after a deal with three potential new owners reportedly fell through at the 11th hour in October 2024.
GWM describes the major milestone in its vehicle localisation strategy as the culmination of its “deliberate and determined efforts to evolve its product offering for the ANZ [Australia and New Zealand] region, a commitment fuelled by continuous feedback from customers, media, and dealer partners”.
It says Lang Lang will become “the heart of GWM’s mission to deliver more refined and locally tuned vehicles” and that its expanded commitment to local chassis tuning comes after several years of “listening closely, learning, and adapting within global parameters”.
GWM appointed Mr Trubiani, who has a distinguished automotive engineering career spanned 25 years, many of them driving still-secret Holdens at Lang Lang, to lead its intensified product localisation program.
“With full-time access to Lang Lang now secured, this is far more than symbolic – it’s a statement of intent,” said GWM ANZ COO, John Kett.
“When Rob presented the idea of establishing Lang Lang as our home base for local development, it was met with overwhelming support, both locally and from our global leadership.
“Rob has been relentless in defining what the true GWM feel should be for our markets, and with the right tools now in place, we’re confident this investment will deliver improved products right here on home soil.”
Mr Trubiani said his return to Lang Lang was satisfying from both a personal and professional perspective.
“Lang Lang is an iconic proving ground, one of the best in the world,” he said.
“It’s an absolute dream to be back, developing great cars specifically for Australian and New Zealand drivers. I know this track like the back of my hand, having spent a considerable amount of my career here with Holden.
“The intimate knowledge I have of the road network, combined with understanding the high performance benchmarks required here, is key to ‘Aussifying’ our vehicles and ensuring what we develop here translates directly to real-world driving.
“LLPG provides me the ability to push vehicle dynamics to the edge, identifying precisely where we can optimise and improve. We’re not just tweaking cars, we’re transforming them to deliver the confidence, control, and comfort that local drivers deserve.”
GWM’s engineering team has already used Lang Lang to fine-tune several models for Australia, but the brand says long-term residency at the facility will “unlock even greater opportunities for collaboration, faster iteration, and more ambitious goals”.
The brand says permanent access to the proving ground now allows it to “apply deeper scrutiny and a more rigorous development process under genuine Australian conditions, building vehicles that feel truly at home on local roads”.
GWM said that in the coming months it would showcase the results of Mr Trubiani’s work across multiple vehicle platforms as part of a program codenamed AT1, which will demonstrate the ride and handling enhancements shaped by feedback from the local market.
Furthermore, it said it will outline how his expertise is “already showing potential to shape future global [vehicle] programs, ensuring that vehicles destined for Australia and New Zealand are developed with local road conditions, driving styles, and customer expectations in mind from the outset”.
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