Chinese car maker, Haval, has revealed a production version of its first plug-in hybrid SUV, the P8, and said it’ll have autonomous cars in two years.

THE HAVAL P8 SUV, the brand’s first plug-in hybrid SUV has been revealed at the Guangzhou Motor Show. It was unveiled by company owner, Jack Wey, and it will go on-sale in China early in 2018 via Haval’s luxury brand, Wey; there’s no word yet on whether it will come Down Under.

The P8 was unveiled in concept form at the recent Frankfurt Motor Show boasting a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine combined with electric motors on each axle. The combined power output of 250kW / 520 Nm drives all four wheels via a six-speed dual clutch transmission.

It can accelerate the P8 from zero to 100 km/h in just 6.5 seconds, while also returning fuel consumption figures of 2.3 L/100km. The home charger, which runs off 220V, can fully charge the vehicle in just four hours. Maximum range on combined fuel is around 660 kilometres.

The P8 will come packed with safety features, including autonomous emergency braking, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, lane change assist, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, 360-degree camera and a streaming rear-view mirror.

At the unveiling in China, chairman Wey said the company was well on the way to becoming a leader in autonomous vehicles.

“Our XEV concept we showed at Frankfurt Motor Show has already reached an L3 level of automation and we are on target to reach L4 in the next two years.”

“We have focused our resources on building the largest station for autonomous driving and intelligent interconnection in China, which will be in operation by the end of this year,” Chairman Wey said.

What does that mean? L3 vehicles allow the driver to safely turn their attention away from driving tasks, with the vehicle capable of events such as emergency braking. It still requires a human presence to undertake duties/inputs if requested. L4 does not require a human for any driving actions, with the car able to respond to any situation and guide itself to its destination.