AVATR likely for New Zealand but no timeline set

Changan says its premium AVATR brand will most likely follow to New Zealand after its Australian launch, but has set no timing and has not decided how it will be distributed here.

“Most likely, no confirmed dates, but our Australian rollout is normally followed by a New Zealand rollout,” Changan Group Australia head of brand and marketing Andrew Haurissa says.

Asked how the brand would reach the market, Haurissa says the question is open.

“It is still being discussed at the moment, but we’re talking with multiple entities. We haven’t conclusively made a decision.”

He declined to name the parties involved.

“We can’t share that at the moment, unfortunately,” he says.

A New Zealand team is being built out of the Australian operation, and Haurissa says that team will set the timing.

“That team will then decide when it’s the right time to launch,” he says. Asked directly whether there was a timeline, he says there is not.

Changan brands other than Deepal will be run out of the Australian office for this market.

“Any Changan-related brands outside of Deepal are going to be controlled by us,” Haurissa says. “And whether it’s through a New Zealand distributor or through us, that’s going to be decided.”

The comments follow confirmation of AVATR’s Australian launch, led by the 07L, a right-hand-drive all-electric SUV. Australian pre-orders open before the end of 2026, first deliveries are targeted for early 2027, and Haurissa says multi-franchise dealer appointments there will be announced before the end of this year.

AVATR was established in 2018 and is a joint venture between Changan and battery maker CATL, with Huawei supplying its driver assistance and cockpit software in China. It sits above Deepal within the Changan Group and runs its design studio in Munich under Nader Faghihzadeh, who has led the brand’s design direction since the AVATR 11 debuted in 2022.

Globally the 07L uses an 800V silicon carbide electric architecture with CATL battery technology, a Meridian audio system and the company’s own operating system. Local specification, range and pricing have not been given for either market.

The Chinese-market car, which went on sale there last month, gives an idea of what to expect. The 07L is the long-wheelbase version of the AVATR 07, at 4,910mm long on a 2,990mm wheelbase, and runs an 89.33kWh CATL Shenxing lithium iron phosphate battery that charges from zero to 80% in a claimed 20 minutes. Rear-drive versions produce 305kW and 435Nm, and a tri-motor all-wheel drive flagship 712kW and 996Nm, with air suspension on the upper grades and a 35.4-inch panoramic display across the dash. Which of those configurations reach right-hand drive is yet to be confirmed. The 800-volt class it joins is now well represented in New Zealand.