China’s Great Wall Motors to increase sales in Australia by 50 per cent, company claims

Chinese automotive giant Great Wall Motors – which markets the Haval range of SUVs, GWM utes, Tank off-roaders, and the Ora electric car – has made an ambitious pledge to increase new-car sales in Australia by 50 per cent this year as the company aims to be a fixture among the Top 10 sellers locally.

The sharp sales increase – if achieved – would cement GWM as one of the fastest-growing car brands in Australia.

The bold plan puts GWM on a collision course with fellow Chinese automakers MG and LDV which are also posting sales gains.

However, the sales battle will likely deliver customers a broader choice of cars at sharper prices.

Although the recently-arrived Chinese car brands – most of which have been in the local market for five years or less – already see themselves as legitimate rivals to established car companies that have been in Australia for more than half a century, price has been one of their main selling points.

The Chinese car brands in Australia have been able to undercut mainstream rivals on price in part because many of the models are based on old vehicle platforms – such as the top-selling MG 3 city hatch, which dates back to 2011 – while new arrivals such as the GWM Haval H6 have poorly-calibrated crash-avoidance tech because the company lacks appropriate engineering expertise.

The battle among Chinese manufacturers to claim a larger slice of the local market comes as industry figures reveal motor vehicles made in China – including Tesla and Polestar – accounted for 11 per cent of new-car sales in Australia last year. 

Five years ago, motor vehicles from China accounted for 1 per cent of annual new-car sales in Australia.

Official new-car sales figures for last year show while MG grew by 27 per cent and LDV grew by 7 per cent – in an overall market that grew by 3 per cent – GWM deliveries rose by 36 per cent in 2022.

When the boss of GWM in Australia, Charles Zhao, was asked in a recent interview with Drive whether the company would continue to close the gap to MG and become a permanent fixture inside the Top 10 after making several appearances on the monthly charts last year, the executive said the target was an increase of “50 per cent”.

Since October last year GWM has posted sales increases locally of between 45 per cent and 115 per cent as stock arrived to fulfil backorders. 

GWM is also about to roll-out several new models, including the Tank 300 4WD and Ora electric hatch in the coming months – as well as a seven-seat SUV and another, larger ute by the end of the year.

Australia is strategically placed for GWM’s growth in the Asia-Pacific region.

News agency Nikkei Asia has reported Great Wall Motors also plans to increase sales in Thailand by 50 per cent this year – ahead of local production of electric vehicles there in 2024.

Nikkei Asia reported GWM tripled sales in Thailand last year – albeit from a low base – and its Ora hatch was the top-selling electric car there.

It appears GWM is following in the tyre tracks of the Japanese car giants by expanding its manufacturing footprint to Thailand, which is the second biggest source of new motor vehicles in Australia behind Japan.

Combined, motor vehicles made in Japan and Thailand (which are largely from factories owned by Japanese manufacturers, with the notable exception of Ford which produces the Ranger ute and Everest 4WD in Thailand) accounted for 53 per cent of new-car sales in Australia last year.

In another sign of Australia’s changing taste in cars, GWM purchased in February 2020 – and has renovated – the Thailand factory that previously assembled the Holden Colorado ute.

The Thailand facility was sold by US car giant General Motors when it withdrew from right-hand-drive markets and axed Holden in Australia at the start of 2020.

From next year, electric cars from Chinese car maker GWM will roll off the assembly line.