Summary: Great Wall’s performance from January to May

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai) - Own brand manufacturer Great Wall suffered drastically last year due to its poor sedan sales. As a result, Great Wall lost its prestigious position as one of the country’s leading domestic manufacturers. However, Great Wall’s ploy to focus on its SUV division has seemed to pay off, with the manufacturer seeing its total passenger automobile sales recover this year.

According to statistics from Gasgoo.com (Chinese), Great Wall sold a total of 317,980 passenger automobiles sold from January to May of this year. The figure is 30.4% higher than the 243,938 vehicles the manufacturer sold a year ago. That growth rate is far above the market average rate of 8.8%. In particular, Great Wall performed especially strong in April and May, where its year-on-year growth rates surpassed 40%. A total of 57,745 Great Walls were sold in the month of May alone, representing year-on-year growth of 42.1%.

SUVs are undoubtedly among Great Wall’s fastest-growing and most successful products. Following its increased focus on the SUV segment, Great Wall managed to see its sales recover last August. A total of 292,400 Great Wall SUVs were sold over the first five months of the year, making up a full 92% of the manufacturer’s total passenger automobiles.

Great Wall has introduced a total of four brand new models since the middle of last year. Among them, combined sales of the Haval H2 and Haval H1 this year, which were released in last July and November, totaled 100,500 units. The Haval H2 quickly broke the 10,000 sales mark last October to become the month’s best-selling compact SUV and the manufacturer’s second best-selling model.

Sales of the Haval H6, Great Wall’s most popular model, totaled 148,548 units over the first five months of the year, with monthly sales averaging around 30,000 units. The Haval H’s sales increased 25.2%. Thanks to its precise market positioning, attractive design, sturdy quality and reasonable price point, the Haval H6 has managed to become one of the most successful models in the Chinese SUV market.

There is the case of the long-awaited Haval H8. Its May sales totaled 1,046 units, due partly due to negative reports regarding defective parts in the vehicle. The Haval H9, which was released last November, managed to break the 3,000 sales mark in December and January. However, its sales started falling in February, with only 804 vehicles sold in May. A total of 8,546 Haval H9s were sold from January to May.

Both the Haval H5 and M series of sedans performed very weakly, with their sales falling over 50%. The M series’ poor performance is in no doubt due to Great Wall’s lack of attention to its sedan division.