China's Great Wall may export compact sedans before selling them at home

Shanghai. September 20 (Gasgoo.com) - China pickup and SUV maker Great Wall Motor Co. Ltd will roll out its first sedan and a new MPV in one month and a half, Beijing-based Jinghua News reported today.

The 1.3 liter compact hatchback, named as "Jingling" in Chinese which means smart, will be priced between 40,000 yuan and 60,000 yuan (US$5,300 - $8,000). The new "Jiayu" MPV will be sold between 100,000 yuan and 130,000 yuan (US$13,300 - $17,300).

"Great Wall has yet to get approval from National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to sell the sedan in China, and in this case we plan to sell the car overseas first before we can sell it at home," Great Wall president Wang Fengying said.

Great Wall's other sedan models, like i7, Xuanli and Kuxiong, will hit Chinese market in the middle of next year; all these models are installed with manual transmissions and 1.3-1.5 L engines, Wang added.

The Hong Kong-listed firm plans to add a new assembly plant to produce sedans based on its existing facilities. When it starts to operate at full capacity by 2010, Great Wall will be able to produce 300,000 sedans annually.

Great Wall sells cars to more than 50 countries and regions world wide, including Africa, the Middle East, South America and Russia. The company exported 32,000 vehicles in 2006.