‘My sh*t, my food’: Chinese CEO’s Aus rant

The boss of the biggest Chinese car brand in Australia has offered a bizarre appraisal of Australia in a rambling monologue supposedly aimed at boosting sales.

Not often does a senior car company executive open up about people thinking their cars are “sh*t”.

But that’s exactly what happened at the recent GWM Tech Day.

The invite-only event in Melbourne saw hundreds of dealers from Australia and New Zealand brought in alongside media from around the world to experience a showcase of the brand’s most up-to-the-minute models.

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Parker Shi, head of GWM International.

But while there was plenty of fanfare around electrified SUVs and four-wheel drives, the head of GWM International, Parker Shi, gave an impassioned and at-times rambling monologue around the brand — its future, and perhaps most poignantly, its past.

“The trust is not Parker’s mission and my team’s mission, it’s everybody’s,” he said.

“It’s our food. It’s our food,” he said, clearly trying to draw a line between the business success having a role in putting the proverbial on the table.

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GWM is moving into the Lang Lang proving ground. Picture: Supplied

“I still remember, you know, that back to 15 years ago, I had a conversation with Tony Penfold in South Africa, in Durban,” said Mr Shi, apparently referring to his discussions with a car dealer about the brand’s early product roll-out.

“He’s a native speaker in English language; he said ‘Parker … this is sh*t, you know, I’m [not going] to buy it’.”

“I said, okay, don’t talk ‘sh*t’. It’s my food. I don’t need that.

“I said, ‘Don’t insult somebody’s food’,” said Mr Shi.

“That’s your language. Because I’m making money. You know, I feed my family [with] this ‘sh*t’.

GWM is moving into the Lang Lang proving ground. Picture: Supplied

“You, this sh*t is making you rich!” exclaimed Mr Shi.

“From that day, he never talked about sh*t. He never [used the] expression about that.”

Also discussing why people desire to have success like Donald Trump (power, money, having a name people recognise),

Mr Shi went on to explain that the Chinese brand has a broad scale target to achieve 7 per cent market share in Australia in the coming years, while it currently sits at around 4.3 per cent, based on sales figures up to the end of the third-quarter of the year.

Despite that, GWM – including its Haval, Ora, Tank and Cannon sub-brands – has seen a surge in sales in 2025, with a 23.7 per cent increase in sales from January 1 through September 30, with 39,343 new vehicle registrations according to VFACTs.

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GWM plans to put V8 power into its Tank 4WDs. Picture: Matt Campbell.

CHINA’S BIGGEST SELLING CAR BRAND

To date in 2025, it is the biggest-selling Chinese vehicle brand in Australia, currently outselling BYD, Chery and MG.

It is clear that GWM is serious about success here, having announced a range of models and democratised pricing for new plug-in hybrid vehicles that offer owners the opportunity to drive fully electric for more than 100km per charge, while then having petrol power for longer drives.

They include the new GWM Haval H6 plug-in hybrid SUV, a family SUV with five seats and a powerful hybrid system and loads of standard equipment that costs the same as a Corolla hatchback; and a new Toyota LandCruiser-rivalling four-wheel drive with an $80,000 price-tag and more standard gear than a luxury SUV twice its price.

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GWM has reduced the price of its Cannon Alpha Hybrid ute to $59,990 drive-away.

Beyond that, GWM has confirmed its plans to make Australia the location for the global debut of a new 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine for a number of its models, with that program planned for 2026. The brand recently added punchier 2.4-litre diesel engines to its Cannon ute and Tank 300 SUVs, too.

And it flirted with the possibility of a new V8 engine at the Shanghai auto show this year.

James Yang, vice president of GWM International, stuck more to his notes, but reiterated the notion that the local market is vital for the brand’s aspirations on a global scale.

“Australia is a foundation of our sales success and a tribute to the trust we have built with our customers,” he said.

“We have been committed to this market for 17 years, with over 200,000 vehicles delivered – making us the largest Chinese established auto brand in the region.”