Great Wall Motor Jan-May sales up 95% to 142,000 units

Shanghai, June 11 (Gasgoo.com) Great Wall Motor Co., Ltd., one of China's independent automakers, sold about 142,000 vehicles in the first five months of the year, up 95% from a year earlier, and the company's exports also surged to 20,000 units in the period, the company reported this week.

The sales growth was boosted buy the company's SUV, pickup and sedan models. In the January to May period, the Hover SUV sold 58,400 units, retaining its lead in the Chinese SUV market; the Wingle, with 39,700 units sold, remained to be the best-selling pickup in China for 12 straight years.

Great Wall Motor, a major Chinese SUV and pickup producer, is diversifying into the sedan making. Its Tengyi sedan series sold 43,400 units in the first five months, merging as a new important player in the China's sedan sector.

The company is expanding its exports. The company will boost sales of its Florid small car and double its Italian sales of its Hover SUV this year. It is seeking distributors in France, Germany, Spain and the UK. In Australia, Great Wall began to sell Hover X240 SUV in mid-2009.

In addition to its existing Baoding production base, Great Wall Motor has started construction of its Tianjin base, and more plants will be built in the next four years. With these facilities in operation, the company's annual capacity will increase to 2 million vehicles by 2015.

Great Wall Motor aims to sell 400,000 vehicles this year, with output to reach 500,000 units. The Jan-May sales figure poses a big challenge to the automaker's sales target for this year.