Bojan Vrbnjak
But only electric cars come from China? The export trend seems to have reversed somewhat among the producers there. Perhaps also due to the upcoming punitive EU tariffs on Chinese electric cars, more and more brands are adding internal combustion engines to their lineup.
An example is MG with MG3, new ZS and HS. GWM is also expanding its portfolio: From 2025, the Wey 03 model will no longer be limited to the current plug-in hybrid. In 2025, the range of engines for the large SUV will be expanded with new gasoline and fully hybrid drives. However, details are still being withheld, with no more than this thinly veiled information available for now. In September 2024, Great Wall Motor sold 108.400 new cars worldwide, up 15% from the previous year. Overseas sales reached a new high of 44.100 units during the period, accounting for 40% of all vehicles sold outside the Chinese domestic market, a new record.
From January to September 2024, cumulative sales outside the domestic market increased to 324.244 units, up 53% year-on-year. With this growth, Great Wall Motor surpassed the total sales in the foreign market for 2024 after only three quarters in 2023. The latest developments in the European market prompted GWM to reorganize its regional structure. The Chinese group has now authorized Great Wall Motor Netherlands Sales BV (GWM NL) to manage its business activities in Europe in order to develop the European market in the future.
At the same time, the proven sales structure will be maintained through national sales partners, such as the Emil Frey Group for the German market. According to GWM, this approach to strategic reorientation underlines "the manufacturer's continued commitment to Europe and its confidence in sustainable growth in this challenging market".
At the same time, a new spare parts warehouse in Amsterdam, which is close to major seaports and airports, started operations in the third quarter of 2024. This should illustrate GWM's efforts to maximize customer satisfaction and further expand the strong service orientation of the sales network. The new structure will ensure even better availability and faster distribution of spare parts in close cooperation with extensive partner service networks.
