Great Wall Motor to invest RMB 20 billion for EV development by 2020

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Wang Fengying, president of Great Wall Motor, was quoted as saying that Great Wall Motor aims to sell 2 million vehicles in 2025, and 700,000 units of the total volume are expected to be electric vehicles.

The president also added that her company would like to invest RMB 20 billion by 2020 to develop electric vehicles, aiming to gain leading advantages in electric vehicle technology and hydrogen fuel cell technology. Great Wall plans to introduce three new electric vehicle models this year and two electric vehicle models next year.

Wei Jianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motor, claimed last year that the Haval brand will surpass Jeep and Land Rover with expected annual sales of over 2 million vehicles in 2020. And the Haval also plans major foray into the American market.

However, the target seems much more ambitious to industry analysts. Even though its annual sales have exceeded 1 million units, the product structure and the development roadmap still need improvement.

In 2017, Great Wall Motor sold a total of 1,070,161 vehicles, down 0.4 percent compared with the previous year. Out of the total volume, the Haval-branded SUV sales reached 851,855 units.

To industry analysts, the automaker’s battery electric vehicles, like C30 EV, have little technology advantage and competitiveness over other similar products. Besides, high fuel consumption is an acknowledged feature of Great Wall’s products. Last year, both the new energy vehicle credit and the CAFC credit are negative for the automaker. If the situation is not improved, the Baoding-based automaker will be under great pressure from the dual-credit scheme.

Actually, Great Wall has been stepping up efforts in new energy vehicle segment. Last year, Great Wall gained 25 percent stake of Hebei Yogomo Automobile Manufacturing Limited Company to meet its own demands in developing new energy vehicles. Yogomo’s products cover pure electric car series and van logistics car series.

Last month, Great Wall announced it was in advanced talks with BMW Group to manufacture a battery-powered Mini in the largest auto market. The Chinese automaker takes this as an opportunity to upgrade its technology level and improve its brand premium.