IN A SIGN OF COMMITMENT TO its future in Australia, GWM has secured permanent residency at the iconic Lang Lang Proving Ground (LLPG) in Victoria. This legendary, purpose-built facility, which has shaped some of Australia’s most loved and iconic vehicles, will now become the heart of GWM’s mission to deliver more refined and locally tuned vehicles.
This elevated commitment is the culmination of GWM’s deliberate and determined efforts to evolve its product offering for the ANZ region, a commitment fuelled by continuous feedback from customers, media, and dealer partners. Over the past few years, GWM has steadily taken steps forward, listening closely, learning, and adapting within global parameters.
Earlier in March, GWM announced a key milestone on this journey with the appointment of Rob Trubiani, one of Australia’s most respected automotive engineers, to lead the development and localisation of GWM products for the Australia and NZ market. Rob brings over 25 years of experience developing and testing vehicles for Australian roads, much of that time spent mastering the very proving ground that now forms GWM’s key local engineering base.
Now, with permanent residency at LLPG — and the only OEM to hold such status — GWM is perfectly positioned to intensify its local product development. The facility will form the cornerstone of a comprehensive localisation strategy, enabling GWM to engineer dedicated ride and handling packages, undertake full vehicle integration, and execute precision tuning across its growing product portfolio. These efforts ensure that GWM vehicles are optimised not just for performance, but for the comfort, confidence, and control that Australian and New Zealand drivers expect.
“With full-time access to Lang Lang now secured, this is far more than symbolic, it’s a statement of intent,” said John Kett, GWM COO ANZ. “When Rob presented the idea of establishing Lang Lang as our home base for local development, it was met with overwhelming support, both locally and from our global leadership. Rob has been relentless in defining what the true GWM feel should be for our markets, and with the right tools now in place, we’re confident this investment will deliver improved products right here on home soil.”
For Rob Trubiani, returning to Lang Lang is hugely satisfying from both a personal and professional perspective.
“Lang Lang is an iconic proving ground, one of the best in the world,” said Trubiani. “It’s an absolute dream to be back, developing great cars specifically for Australian and New Zealand drivers. I know this track like the back of my hand, having spent a considerable amount of my career here with Holden. The intimate knowledge I have of the road network, combined with understanding the high-performance benchmarks required here, is key to ‘Aussifying’ our vehicles and ensuring what we develop here translates directly to real-world driving. LLPG provides me the ability to push vehicle dynamics to the edge, identifying precisely where we can optimise and improve. We’re not just tweaking cars, we’re transforming them to deliver the confidence, control, and comfort that local drivers deserve.”
With this long-term residency and permanent access to the proving ground, GWM can now apply deeper scrutiny and a more rigorous development process under genuine Australian conditions, building vehicles that feel truly at home on local roads. While GWM’s engineering teams — under Rob’s leadership — have already been utilising the facility, this residency unlocks even greater opportunities for collaboration, faster iteration, and more ambitious goals.
In the coming months, GWM will showcase the results of Mr. Trubiani’s work across multiple vehicle platforms. Codenamed “AT1”, this program will demonstrate the ride and handling enhancements shaped by feedback from the local market.
In addition, GWM will share further insights into how Rob’s expertise is already showing potential to shape future global programs, ensuring that vehicles destined for Australia and New Zealand are developed with local road conditions, driving styles, and customer expectations in mind from the outset.