Great Wall Motor charts fresh European offensive

Following a series of false starts, Great Wall Motor is making a fresh attempt at breaking into the European EV market. The Chinese carmaker has presented an expansion strategy that will include combustion engines and full hybrids in addition to electric cars and plug-in hybrids - with a focus on the pure SUV brand, Haval.

In 2021, Great Wall Motor (GWM) ventured into Europe with high hopes. The Chinese automaker brought with it two fully electric models – the GWM Ora 03 and, later, the Ora 07 – as well as two plug-in hybrid SUVs, the GWM Wey 03 and Wey 05. Initially, Ora and Wey were independent brands, but at the end of 2023, GWM was made the main brand in Europe, while other two were downgraded to mere model names.

However, this initial foray into Europe was met with rather modest success. Founded in 1984, the company sold roughly 316,000 cars outside China in 2023, but only 6300 in Europe. GWM once hoped to sell one million vehicles in other markets by 2025; this goal has now been postponed to 2030. In Germany, the picture is even worse: last year, GWM only sold around 3000 cars there, marking further disappointment for the Chinese automaker. In August 2024, the carmaker pulled the plug on its European headquarters in Munich, resulting in the loss of 100 jobs at the site. Since then, GWM’s European activities have been on the back burner.

A second attempt – with more SUVs and combustion engines

Now, the group is planning to make a second attempt at pushing into Europe and has presented a large-scale expansion plan. As part of the plan, GWM has strategically realigned itself with a greater focus on pure combustion engines and full hybrids in addition to pure EVs and PHEV – as part of what it sees as a commitment to continuous investment in the European market.

At the core of this investment is a new product offensive with which GWM hopes to gain a foothold in the high-volume segments of the local market. The carmaker has particularly high hopes for its Haval sub-brand, which is geared towards SUVs and has been active in other markets since 2013. With this, the Chinese manufacturer aims to score points with a combination of luxury equipment, a broad selection of drive systems, and competitive prices.

Besides the Haval series, SUVs will dominate the rest of the GWM model range, spanning front-wheel drives for city use to fully-fledged all-wheel drives. The fully electric Ora model family, which has so far fallen short of expectations in Europe, is also set to be expanded with a new line of compact SUVs. GWM then plans to retain its existing sales concept, working with various independent dealers and dealership groups. Its European expansion is now set to enter a critical phase in 2026.

presse.gwm-motor.de

This article was originally published by Elias Holdenried for electrive’s German edition