Great Wall Motors Snow and Ice Off-Road Challenge at Changbai Mountains

[XNmotors News] 

On January 9, Great Wall Motors hosted the Ice and Snow Joy Week (January 9 to January 15) at Changbai Mountains, inviting car enthusiasts from around the world to enjoy the beauty of snowy landscapes and explore ice and snow culture.

During the event, GWM announced the establishment of the “Great Wall Off-Road Alliance” and globally launched the grading standards for off-road scenarios.

On the first day of the Ice and Snow Joy Week, Great Wall Motors brought together its three major brands—Haval, Tank, and Great Wall Pickup—at Changbai Mountains. Over a thousand global media representatives and users deeply participated to experience the thrill of ice and snow.

Image Source: Chinese News Media

Snow and Ice Off-Road Challenge at White Tiger Slope

In the live broadcast of the Ice and Snow Joy Week, Wei Jianjun, Chairman of Great Wall Motors, and media partners drove the Tank 500 Hi4-T through the primitive forests of Changbai Mountains. They showcased the exceptional off-road capabilities of Great Wall Motors’ vehicles in complex snow and ice environments.

In the subsequent event, renowned racer Lu Binglong drove the Tank 500 Hi4-Z to conquer the White Tiger Slope.

Image Source: Chinese News Media

The White Tiger Slope is approximately 1,000 meters long, with a vertical drop of 180 meters and a height difference equivalent to 60 floors. The snow-covered slope is incredibly slippery, presenting a massive challenge for most vehicles. However, the Tank 500 Hi4-Z, with its sustained strong power and precise, stable torque distribution, not only completed the challenge effortlessly but also added difficulty by towing a snowmobile during the process.

Image Source: Chinese News Media

Establishment of the Great Wall Off-Road Alliance

During the Ice and Snow Joy Week press conference, Great Wall Motors officially announced the establishment of the “Great Wall Off-Road Alliance.”

The Great Wall Off-Road Alliance is a non-profit organization consisting of off-road ecosystem partners aimed at providing services, advice, and support for off-road enthusiasts. Its mission is to promote the healthy and positive development of off-road culture in China, ensuring that users can “venture out, have fun, and return safely.” The operating principles and purpose of the alliance are “safety, joy, love, and fairness.” Safety is the cornerstone, joy is the goal, and love and fairness are the shared values practiced by all alliance members.

In recent years, Great Wall Motors has been working with ecosystem partners to continuously invest resources in developing the Great Wall Off-Road Academy. The academy has established physical institutions for different scenarios to improve off-road driving skills and plans to expand to more regions nationwide, covering a broader range of off-road scenarios and illuminating China’s off-road map.

The Great Wall Off-Road Alliance also hopes to collaborate with users, local governments, and venue operators to discover more interesting off-road routes. These routes, called “off-road road books,” are co-created, shared, and inspired by diverse cultural features. The “road book” column is already available on the Great Wall app.

Advancing Off-Road Grading

In October 2024, Great Wall Motors introduced a corporate standard for off-road vehicle grading, categorizing vehicles into four levels: city SUVs, general off-road, strong off-road, and ultra-strong off-road. While this was the first step in promoting off-road safety, Great Wall Motors believed it was insufficient. Users not only need to understand their vehicles but also the terrains they intend to explore. To enhance safety and the off-road experience, Great Wall Motors decided to grade off-road scenarios further.

Image Source: Chinese News Media

To achieve this, Great Wall Motors formed an off-road grading project team of over 100 members. Over the past two years, they have visited more than 100 off-road venues worldwide, including Lao Zhanggou, Luyashan, Tengger Desert, and locations in the Middle East, collecting extensive valuable data.

Part of this data also comes from Great Wall Motors’ off-road users. With millions of off-road users globally, the company has built a database of over 40,000 real off-road scenarios. Utilizing AI analysis, they extracted scene characteristics from the database, forming a robust foundation for scenario grading.

Image Source: Chinese News Media

Based on this data, and through discussions with senior off-road players, professional racers, and industry experts, Great Wall Motors finalized the off-road scenario grading. Snow, mountain, sand, and mud terrains are categorized and subdivided for user understanding:

 • Levels 1 to 3: Basic difficulty—ordinary users can manage with standard four-wheel-drive vehicles.

 • Levels 4 to 7: Intermediate difficulty—risks increase by 2-3 levels, requiring experienced players with strong off-road vehicles for safety.

 • Level 8 and above: Advanced difficulty—extremely high risks, demanding expert drivers, heavily modified vehicles, and team collaboration.

By grading vehicles and scenarios, Great Wall Motors integrates its 30 years of car-making expertise, off-road heritage, and industry resources into a low-threshold, high-value, and easy-to-implement off-road guide. This guide provides users with comprehensive information on scenario difficulty, safety risks, recommended vehicles, driving experience, and off-road preparation. It aims to become the “Michelin Guide” for the off-road community.

Image Source: Chinese News Media

Emerging New Energy Off-Road System

The segmentation of the off-road system by Great Wall Motors is backed by its technical strength. Its new energy off-road system has begun taking shape, featuring intelligent four-wheel-drive hybrid architecture Hi4/Hi4 Performance Version, the off-road super hybrid architecture Hi4-T, and the newly launched longitudinal dual-motor hybrid architecture Hi4-Z.

Image Source: Chinese News Media

The Hi4 (Hybrid intelligent 4WD) caters to users’ needs from daily urban travel to trendy off-road adventures, offering cost-effective, long-distance, and safe travel experiences. It has been applied to relevant Haval and WEY models, delivering four-wheel-drive performance at two-wheel-drive prices and efficiency.

Image Source: Chinese News Media

The Hi4-T is a super off-road version of the Hi4, developed on the Tank platform. With sustained strong power output and intelligent energy management, it meets users’ diverse needs, from urban commutes to cross-country camping. Models like the Tank 500 Hi4-T and Tank 400 Hi4-T have adopted this architecture.

Image Source: Chinese News Media

Launched in late 2024, the Hi4-Z focuses on ultra-long-range off-road platforms, balancing city and off-road demands with up to 715 kW of system power, 4-second acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h, and over 200 km of pure electric range—the best in the plug-in hybrid off-road sector.

[News Article/ XNmotors Sarah ]