Great Wall Motors Company Limited[3] is a Chinese automobile manufacturer headquarterd in Baoding, Hebei, China. The company is named after the Great Wall of China and formed in 1984. It is China’s largest sport utility vehicle (SUV) and pick-up truck producer.[4]
In 2016, Great Wall Motors set a historical sales record of 1,074,471 cars worldwide, increased by 26% compared to 2015.[5]
Great Wall sells passenger cars, trucks under the Great Wall brand and SUVs under the Haval brand.
On April19th 2017, Great Wall Motors released a new premium SUV brand named WEY.[6]
25 May 2017, the company officially launched its first electric new energy vehicle, Great Wall C30EV
History
Established in 1984, Great Wall initially manufactured only trucks not producing a sedan car until 2010.[8] The company has been a very successful producer of pick-ups first reaching top position in the Chinese pick-up market in 1998.[9]
Making an initial public offering on the Hong Kong stock exchange on 15 December 2003,[10] Great Wall was the first private Chinese auto manufacturer to become a public company.[11] The company is considering listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange as well.[12]
Sales in 2010 were measured at less than 400,000 (near 2% market share)[clarification needed] with exports a small portion of that figure at little more than 50,000,[13] no increase from 2009 figures.[14] That same year saw the Great Wall Haval H series as the 2nd most-purchased SUV in China[15] although this figure may technically include two discrete models, the Great Wall Haval H3 and the Great Wall Haval H5.
Manufacturing for 2011 resulted in 486,800 units, and output this year was the tenth largest of any vehicle maker in China.[16] In 2012, it was reported that the company only allows workers one day off per week and new hires undergo months-long, military-style training.[17]
Great Wall started selling in Europe in 2006, offering small vans.[18] A lot of 500 SUVs were shipped to Italy in 2006 as well.[19] Great Wall products were first available in the Australian market in 2009,[20] and the company was, as of 2010, the only Chinese car manufacturer to sell in the EU.[14] European sales continue, with the 2011 opening of a factory in Bulgaria that assembles three different models from knock-down kits.[21]
Operations
Production facilities in China
With a main[citation needed] manufacturing location in Baoding, Hebei province,[22] Great Wall has expansive plans for future production bases and facilities.
Other production bases include a site in Tianjin, a direct-controlled municipality, that began operating in 2011 with further expansion phases planned until 2015.[23] The first phase of this facility may become operational in August 2011 adding 250,000 units per year capacity, and when the project reaches completion total capacity will be twice that.[24]
Another 500,000 units per year base was built in Baoding. This second base become operational in October 2013 and is located in the Xushui county.[25]
Overseas production facilities
There have been several other overseas factories that produced Great Wall models from knock-down kits, located in Bulgaria,[26] Ecuador,[27] Egypt,[28] Ethiopia,[28] Indonesia,[28] Iran,[28] Nigeria,[29] Russia,[28] Senegal,[28] Ukraine,[30] and Vietnam.[28] It is possible that there are now more than ten such factories.[30]
These facilities are not necessarily affiliated with or owned by Great Wall. By 2015 Great Wall plans for the existence of 24 such workshops.[28]
Bulgaria
Together with the Bulgarian company Litex Motors, Great Wall has a production base in Bahovitsa,[26] near the town of Lovech, Bulgaria, that became operational in February 2012.[31] As of 2012, the factory had the capacity to assemble 2,000 cars per year[32] from knock-down kits[21] Initially only making the Voleex C10, the factory later added production of an SUV and a pick-up, the Hover 6 and the Steed 5.[21] Plans for a trial run of electric cars were discussed in late 2011, but were postponed.[33]
As of January 2015, the company had a production output of about 5,000 vehicles per year (the Hover H6 and the Steed 5 models) and was planning to reach to 8,000 vehicles within a year or two.[34] By mid-2016, the company had a total of 14 dealerships in 12 Bulgarian cities, three of them in the capital Sofia.[35]
Iran
The Iranian motor company Diar has assembled Great Wall vehicles from knock-down kits.[36]
Russia
In September 2015, Great Wall Motors broke ground on a new plant located in the Tula Region, Russia.[37] The plant is slated to have a total production capacity of 150,000 units per year if the project is successful enough to warrant a second phase of expansion.[38] Initially scheduled to open in 2017, the facility is touted as an “all-process vehicle plant”,[37] which may indicate it is on a larger scale than other overseas assembly shops.
Products
Brand names
The newer Haval badge is clearly visible on this H9 seen at a Chinese dealership in 2015.
While its entire model line initially carried the same badge, the company planned c. 2010 to differentiate its SUV, passenger car, and pick-up truck offerings naming them Haval, Voleex, and Wingle, respectively.[30] This goal may not have seen full fruition as compact cars carry the Great Wall badge as late as 2016.[45] However, SUVs have been branded Haval since 2013.[46] Great Wall recognizes this on its website stating that in March 2013, “[The] Haval brand became independent officially, bringing GWM into an era of dual brand of Haval and Great Wall.”[47]
Vehicles
A wide model range can be had from Great Wall—from light trucks and SUVs to urban runabouts.
SUV
Great Wall Haval H2
Great Wall Haval H3[1] (Great Wall Hover / Changcheng Hafu)
Great Wall Haval H5[2]
Great Wall Haval H6
Great Wall Haval H7
Great Wall Haval H8
Great Wall Haval H9
Great Wall Haval M2[3]
Great Wall Haval M4
Pick-up
Great Wall Steed 3
Great Wall Steed 5
Great Wall Wingle[4] (Changcheng Fengjun)
Great Wall Wingle 5
City car
Great Wall Coolbear[6] (Changcheng Kuxiong)
Great Wall Peri (Changcheng Jingling)
Great Wall Haval M1[7] (Great Wall Peri 4×4)
MPV
Great Wall Voleex V80[8] (Great Wall Cowry / Changcheng Jiayu)
Sedan[edit]
Great Wall Voleex C50
Great Wall Voleex C70
Great Wall CARS
Great Wall Haval H2 SUV
Great Wall Haval H6 coupe SUV
Great Wall Haval H7 SUV
Great Wall Haval H8 SUV
Great Wall Haval H9 SUV
Great Wall Haval H10 SUV
Great Wall Haval Dakar racer car SUV
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