Great Wall Motor marks new chapter with Brazil plant

Date:2021-08-31 Source:china daily

Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor is moving steadily into the global automobile market, as it signed an agreement with Daimler AG on the acquisition of the German carmaker’s plant in Brazil on Aug 18.

According to the agreement, the Iracemapolis plant in Brazil will be handed over to Great Wall Motor at the end of the year.

The plant will be upgraded to have an annual production capacity of 100,000 vehicles, with nearly 2,000 jobs to be created, according to Great Wall Motor.

The acquisition of the plant in Brazil will boost its presence in the South American market and help turn itself into a global technology mobility company, according to the automaker.

Great Wall Motor regards Brazil as an important overseas strategic market. It is committed to studying local consumer preferences and the development of the automobile market there. Great Wall’s investment will bring intelligent, safe and high-end travel experiences to local users, the automaker added.

The leading sport utility vehicle and pickup manufacturer in China has accelerated its overseas layout in recent years. Besides Brazil, the Great Wall Motor Tula plant in Russia was completed and put into operation in 2019. The automaker also acquired two GM plants in India and Thailand last year.

In addition, Great Wall has built a global research and development layout covering countries across Asia, Europe and North America. They include China, Japan, the United States, Germany and India.

Great Wall Motor started exporting vehicles in 1998 and was one of the first Chinese auto companies to do so. With its main export models including SUVs and pickups, Great Wall Motor has sold a total of more than 700,000 vehicles overseas.

The automaker has been dedicated to improving its aftersales service in overseas markets, which has helped earn itself popularity and a decent brand reputation internationally.

Up to now, the overseas marketing network of Great Wall Motor has covered more than 60 countries across the world. More than 500 dealerships are scattered across such countries as Russia, Australia, Chile and Malaysia.

Currently, there are 101 Great Wall Motor dealerships in Russia. This helped the automaker sell a total of 2,932 vehicles there in July, up 60 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the quality and intelligence of Great Wall’s products are recognized by industry authorities in Russia.
Great Wall’s Haval F7 and Haval H9 have been listed among the top five best-selling Chinese brands in terms of their residual value, ranking first and third respectively, according to Russia Automotive Market Research.

Looking ahead, Great Wall Motor aims to achieve a global annual sales volume of 4 million vehicles by 2025, 80 percent of which will be new energy vehicles. It is expected to generate revenue surpassing 600 billion yuan ($92.7 billion).

To achieve this goal, the R&D investment of Great Wall Motor will reach 100 billion yuan in the next five years. By 2023, it is forecast the number of R&D staff members of Great Wall Motor worldwide will double from the current 15,000 to 30,000. Among them, software development personnel will number 10,000.