Great Wall Motors, China's SUV industry leader, rose 26% year-on-year in net profit

Text/Forbes China

On Sunday, Great Wall Motors, China's largest private maker of domestically produced SUVs, said its net profit had risen 26 percent in the past 12 months as it saw sales growth through December 2021.

Great Wall Motor's profit rose to 6.78 billion yuan (ABOUT $1.06 billion). According to Preliminary Data from Great Wall Motors, the company's operating income increased by 32% to 136 billion yuan (about 21 billion US dollars). Great Wall Motor's product range also includes pickup trucks and cars.

Great Wall Motors issued a statement earlier this month saying it had increased shipments by 15.2 percent last year to 1.28 million units. Among them, the Havals of the Great Wall SUV model shipped about 750,228 units. Sales of Ora, the core product of Great Wall Electric Vehicles, more than doubled from a year ago to 134,028 units. It is reported that Great Wall Motor has factories in India, Russia and Thailand, and the company does not provide domestic and international shipments respectively.

Image source: Visual China

The increase in sales of Great Wall Motors is closely related to the good development of the market environment. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, as the world's largest automotive market, China's auto industry increased sales by 3.8% last year to 26 million vehicles.

As a leader in the field of electric vehicles, the development of China's electric vehicle industry, core technology and influence are subverting the global global automotive industry. As one of the leaders of the domestic automotive internal combustion engine industry, Great Wall Motor disclosed production data this month that its sales of new energy vehicles reached about 137,000 units last year. At the same time, with domestic electric vehicle start-ups such as WEILAI Automobile, Xiaopeng Automobile and Ideal Automobile entering the market, Great Wall Motors is also facing fierce industry competition.

At the same time, Asian smartphone manufacturers, including Xiaomi and Hon Hai Technology Group, are also interested in developing the smart electric vehicle industry. Bill Russo, an automotive consultant based in Shanghai, wrote in a report this month: "Equipment manufacturers see cars as platforms for digital services and high-frequency user engagement. As cars shift towards intelligent devices, a group of emerging smart electric vehicles and smart device players are restructuring the traditional automation industry value chain. ”

It is reported that Tesla has established a factory in Shanghai, and the British Reuters news agency expects the production of the factory to reach half of the global output. Ford Motor Co. announced this week that it will build a design center in Shanghai. China's boom in electric vehicles and green energy has also led to the birth of many Of China's billionaires, as detailed in the Forbes Chinese mainland Rich List released in November.

While less well-known abroad than at home, Great Wall Motor's market capitalization reached HK$409 billion (US$52 billion) on Friday, accounting for about two-thirds of GM's market capitalization (US$77 billion). On the latest Forbes billionaire list, Great Wall Motor CEO Wei Jianjun's wealth is valued at about $22 billion.

In 1990, at the age of 26, Wei Jianjun accepted the debt-ridden Great Wall Industrial Company, the predecessor of Great Wall Motors. Prior to great wall motors, he worked in carpet factories and pump factories.

In a separate statement last Sunday, Wang Fengying, vice chairman and general manager of the company, resigned as the company's executive director, vice chairman and member of the strategy and sustainability committee due to work.

Translation: Julie