GWM’s Hi4 hybrid system has earned the highest automotive engineering award in China, a rare recognition that puts the technology in the same league as the country’s most important innovations in mobility.

The China Society of Automotive Engineers (China SAE) granted Hi4 the Grand Prize in the 2025 Science and Technology Award, the first time in over 30 years that a hybrid system has received this honor. The award is approved by the Chinese government and decided by experts from engineering, research, and the auto industry. It highlights how far GWM has gone in developing its own hybrid system, especially in power delivery, safety, and usable four-wheel drive capability.

Hi4, which stands for Hybrid Intelligent 4WD, uses a twin-motor, multi-gear setup with a series-parallel layout that drives all four wheels. The system combines three power sources with nine operating modes. In simple terms, it decides on its own how to use the engine and motors to keep the car moving smoothly, quietly, and efficiently in different situations, from city traffic to rough roads.

One of the key features is its terrain recognition. The Hi4 system can read up to 32 types of off-road surfaces along with several urban driving scenarios, and then adjust how power is sent to each wheel. Accuracy is close to perfect based on GWM’s internal data, which helps prevent the wrong drive mode from being used on tricky surfaces.

GWM also developed a dedicated high-protection battery pack for Hi4. It is built to handle a wide range of temperatures while delivering stable performance. This is important for owners who drive in very hot or cold conditions, or who take their vehicles off-road more often than usual. Along with software that manages power and grip, the hardware helps position Hi4 as a serious option for drivers who want both efficiency and real all-wheel drive use.

The numbers reflect how well the market has responded. From its launch in May 2023 until the end of 2024, vehicles fitted with Hi4 reached around 410,000 units in global cumulative sales. In China, the technology helped push GWM’s share in the new energy off-road segment from 10 percent in 2020 to 52 percent in 2024.

Outside China, GWM has identified Australia and New Zealand as key regions where Hi4-equipped models will play a bigger role. Company executives say the award supports their push to offer intelligent hybrid four-wheel drive systems at more accessible price points, instead of limiting them to niche or high-end models.