Car trackers for a Haval or GWM: built-in tracking and theft risk, model by model

Does a Haval or GWM have built-in tracking?

Not that GWM South Africa publishes. Its website mentions no app, connected services, telematics or tracker, and the Owners section links only to warranty, roadside assistance, servicing and parts.¹ The specification tables in the current South African brochures are just as silent: the Jolion and Jolion Pro (October 2025), the H6 (February 2026), the P300 range (July and September 2025) and the Tank 300 (August 2025) list no app and no telematics.^2,3,4,5,8

If you search for a Haval tracker, Google shows the GWM App, which offers connected services in Australia and New Zealand.¹² GWM South Africa says nothing about it, so don’t count on it for a car bought here.

Two brochures do list a feature with a tracking-sounding name. Every Jolion and Jolion Pro has a “Vehicle Locating Function”, and every H6 a “Car Search Function”.^2,3 GWM doesn’t say what either one does, and nothing it publishes mentions GPS, a phone app, a control room or a recovery service. Until it does, don’t treat either as stolen-vehicle tracking.

Are Havals and GWMs targeted by hijackers?

They have been named as targets, but no one publishes how many are taken. In February 2025 BusinessTech, reporting Fidelity Services Group’s warnings, wrote that Chery and GWM “are now being flagged by security groups as increasingly vulnerable”, without naming the groups. It gave demand for parts and resale as the reason.⁶

The 2026 rankings leave the brand out. Neither King Price’s 2026 top 10 nor Fidelity ADT’s February 2026 list of targets names a Haval or a GWM.^13,14 Auto Trader’s February 2026 article on high-risk cars does list “Haval and Chery” under “New Emerging Risks in 2026”, saying “The high volume of Chinese cars being sold is driving up demand for replacement parts on the black market.” It names no model and gives no figures.¹⁵

The warnings go back further. In 2021 SAPS warned of a rise in hijackings, “specifically Haval models”, with the engines “removed and fitted into Toyota Quantum minibuses”, as BusinessTech recalled in 2024.¹⁶

No 2025 or 2026 report we found describes how Havals or GWMs are stolen. A 2026 report on relay attacks against keyless cars, drawn from the Insurance Crime Bureau, names no GWM or Haval model.¹⁷

Haval Jolion and Jolion Pro

All seven derivatives, from the City 6MT to the Pro 1.5 HEV Ultra Luxury, come with two smart keys, keyless entry and push-button start.² That puts every current Jolion among the keyless cars that relay attacks are aimed at.¹⁷ The thieves use “receivers and transmitters to remotely read the vehicle’s security key while in the possession of the owner”, as Toyota South Africa described the method.¹⁸

An engine immobiliser and an anti-theft alarm are also standard on all seven. Neither one is a tracker.² The upper derivatives add remote control window closing, but neither the brochure nor GWM’s January 2026 sheet for the Jolion Pro Limited Edition lists remote engine start.^2,19

BusinessTech called the Jolion a likely target in 2025 because it was one of the best-selling cars at the end of 2024, a conclusion it drew from sales figures: it says Fidelity did not name models.⁶ Cars.co.za also put the Jolion at risk, because of demand for parts, and East Coast Radio includes it on its list of South Africa’s most hijacked vehicles without saying where that list comes from.^7,20

GWM’s launch release for the Jolion Pro mentions only “enhanced wireless Android Auto and CarPlay for seamless connectivity”.²¹

Get tracker quotes for a Jolion

Haval H6

The H6 comes in eight derivatives: 2.0T petrol in two-wheel and four-wheel drive, the 1.5T hybrid, and the plug-in hybrids, including the Hi-4 4WD. Every one has two smart keys, keyless smart entry and push-button start, and an immobiliser, which GWM lists as “Electronic Engine Anti-Theft”.³ Unlike the Jolion, the H6’s Safety & Security table lists no anti-theft alarm.

The plug-in hybrids run “GWM’s Coffee OS”, an in-car system for connectivity, vehicle information and controls. The brochure mentions no phone app and no remote access.³

BusinessTech wrote in 2025 that larger SUVs like the H6 “are thus at risk” because they are popular, again its own reading of sales rather than a named source.⁶ Cars.co.za named the H6 alongside the Jolion, and it is on East Coast Radio’s list too.^7,20

Get tracker quotes for an H6

GWM P300 bakkie (was the P-Series)

The P300 replaced the P-Series in South Africa in February 2025; BusinessDay called it “the updated and rebranded P Series bakkie range”.²² On the LS, LT and LTD, keyless entry and a smart key are standard.⁴ The workhorse SX is different: keyless entry, the smart key and one-button start come only on the second pair of double cabs, the ones with paddle and electronic gear shifters. The single cabs and the first pair of double cabs open with a key.⁸

Every P300 has an engine immobiliser. The only alarm in the brochures is an “Overspeed Alarm”, which is a driving aid, not theft protection.^4,8

No source from 2025 or 2026 names the P300 or the P-Series as a target. The last to do so was TopAuto in October 2024, which listed “the GWM P-Series bakkie” among the most targeted Chinese models.⁹ The police don’t publish makes, but they do count bakkies: 1 083 bakkies and panel vans were hijacked from April to June 2026, second only to sedans and hatchbacks.²³

Get tracker quotes for a P300

GWM Tank 300

All seven Tank 300 derivatives, petrol, hybrid and diesel, come with two smart keys, remote central locking and an engine immobiliser.⁵ The brochure has no separate keyless line, but TopAuto reports that even the entry Luxury 2WD has “keyless entry and start”.¹⁰ As on the H6 and P300, the only alarm listed is the “Overspeed Alarm Function”, a driving aid.

We found no source that names the Tank 300 as a target. SAPS puts SUVs and station wagons together: 386 were hijacked from April to June 2026.²³

Get tracker quotes for a Tank 300

What to fit to a Haval or GWM

A tracker with a recovery service, after checking what your policy schedule asks for. Insurers decide per vehicle, and some spell out what counts: Naked says “the main thing to check is that it includes a vehicle recovery service”, and gives you 14 days from the start of cover to install and activate it.²⁴

Because every Jolion and H6 and most P300 derivatives are keyless, protect the key as well as the car. Pineapple suggests a Faraday bag “to prevent the cloning of keyless access signals”.²⁵ Safire, warning that “criminals may also exploit keyless entry systems”, suggests “a steering-wheel lock”.²⁶

Our deals start from R99pm for a wireless recovery unit, or R149pm for a full insurance-approved tracker. Free installation, 36-month contract.

Tell us which Haval or GWM you drive and we’ll quote the units that fit it.

Compare tracker deals

Questions people ask