Great Wall to launch Coolbear, Mini SUV in early 2009

Shanghai, October 9 (Gasgoo.com) Great Wall Motor, a major pickup truck and SUV producer in China, said that it will launch its Coolbear sedan at the beginning of next year and its another new model, the Great Wall Mini SUV, will be rolled out in early 2009, reported Beijing Times today.

The Great Wall Coolbear, as the company's third compact sedan after the Great Wall Peri (GWperi) and Florid, originally had its launch scheduled for July 2008, but now its rollout is postponed to January 2009 as “part of the company's corporate strategy,” said a sales executive of Great Wall Motor, adding that the Florid model will go on sale in the coming November.

Great Wall Coolbear

Following the Florid, Great Wall Motor expects to roll out a new model every few months in the years ahead, with the Coolbear as its first new model to hit the market in 2009. The GWperi car, launched earlier this year, has been entangled in a lawsuit with Italian carmaker Fiat who claims that this car is a copy of its Panda model.

After the launch of the Coolbear, Great Wall will release another new model, the Great Wall Mini SUV, in early 2009. It has been touted as the first 1.3L four-wheel-drive SUV made in China. An insider from the company said that the Mini SUV will be priced betwen 50,000 ($7,330) and 70,000 yuan.

Great Wall Motor, China's largest maker and exporter of pickups and SUVs, has made its foray into the small-car segment. The company launched its first sedan Peri in March this year. The Coolbear and Mini SUV are set to become the most 'cool' and 'sporty' of the Great Wall Motor lineup.