Great Wall Motor's transformation into a global intelligent technology company | Cover Story: The Global Start of Chinese Car Companies (5)

Product export, R&D layout, overseas factories, ecological construction, every step of Great Wall Motor's globalization has been carefully considered.

"China's auto globalization really can't just be a gimmick!"

"Great Wall Motors can't just be a first-class student at the doorstep!"

"As the founder of Great Wall Motors, if Great Wall Motors' products had not gone out when he retired, it would be very regrettable."

"Globalization must go, we only have two choices, to die at home or abroad, I think there is hope only when we go out."

"Auto brands are not internationalized without value, but also can not survive, for the sake of the brand, for the sake of the business must implement the globalization strategy." On different occasions, Wei Jianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motor, has reiterated the significance of globalization for Great Wall Motors more than once. As the "tide maker" of Chinese car companies, Great Wall Motors is one of the earliest car companies in China to go to sea. Globalization is regarded by Wei Jianjun as the only way out for the future development of Great Wall Motors. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Great Wall Motors, Great Wall Motors officially proposed the transformation of "to a global intelligent technology company".

After years of precipitation, the globalization of Great Wall Motors has begun to take shape and gradually formed a system. For globalization, Great Wall Motors also has a more profound interpretation. Sun Guang, deputy general manager of Great Wall Motor's international business, said in an interview with Auto Vertical and Horizontal that great wall motor's globalization is not limited to the export of products, but also the integration of capital, technology, talent and other resources from the international scope, which is the deep globalization of overseas revenue accounting for an important proportion, and the globalization of profound interaction and interconnection in culture and trade.

To this end, Great Wall Motor's products not only integrate the resources of high-quality parts suppliers around the world, but also carry out an international R & D layout, and have a large number of foreign experts and executives; in addition, with the deepening of globalization, Great Wall Motor's products research and development, production and sales are becoming more and more localized. It can be said that Great Wall Motors is already a global company with distinctive characteristics in terms of business and culture.

Strength to build, product strength to upgrade

As early as 1997, the first batch of Great Wall pickup trucks were sold to the Middle East, kicking off the prelude to Great Wall Motors' overseas expansion. In recent years, Great Wall Motor's overseas exports have developed steadily and have been showing a growth trend. At present, Great Wall Motors has exported to more than 170 countries and regions, and its overseas marketing network has reached more than 700, with a total of more than 900,000 overseas sales; overseas markets cover Russia, South Africa, Australia, Central and South America, ASEAN region, Middle East, Africa and other countries and regions.

In 2021, Great Wall Motor sold 1280993 new vehicles, an increase of 15.2% year-on-year, of which 142793 overseas sales, an increase of 103.7% year-on-year, accounting for 11.1% of sales. Based on the increasingly perfect matrix of overseas products, in 2021, Great Wall Motors will deepen its advantages in the market and continue to maintain its leading position in overseas markets such as Russia, Australia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Chile.

In 2021, Great Wall Motors launched the third generation of Haval H6, HAVAL JOLION Great Wall Gun and other global products; Haval H6 PHEV, Tank 500 HEV, HAVAL DARGO also ushered in overseas debuts, followed by a new wave of cars, bringing new vitality to Great Wall Motors' overseas markets, and continuing to refresh the global heat of Great Wall Motors.

According to Sun Guang, in 2021, Great Wall Motors' sales in Russia and surrounding markets exceeded 40,000 units, a record high. Among them, 39,000 new cars were sold in the Local Market of Russia, an increase of 125% year-on-year, winning the sales champion of Chinese car brands in the Russian market and the top ten overall car brand sales; ranking seventh in the SUV + pickup category. Great Wall Motors has more than 180,000 units in the Russian market.

In the Thai market, Great Wall Motors' three new energy vehicles: Haval H6 HEV, Haval JOLION HEV, and Euler Good Cat, have entered the family life of tens of millions of users in Thailand. Among them, since the haval H6 HEV was launched at the end of June 2021, it has ranked first in the Thai C-class SUV market for 5 months and maintained a leading market segment; Euler Good Cat has become a new Internet celebrity model in Thailand with its stylish retro design and pure electric driving pleasure.

At the same time, Great Wall Motors is also actively exploring other new overseas markets, successively landing in Egypt, Nepal, Brunei, Pakistan, Laos and other new markets. At the 2021 Munich Motor Show, Great Wall Motor Weipai officially announced its entry into Europe. Facing the "hard bones" of the European market shows Great Wall Motors' confidence in the strength of its products. Choosing to enter the high-potential market with a century-old car manufacturing foundation means that Weipai dares to accept the test of the world's most stringent standards.

Sun Guang said that in 2022, more than ten models of Great Wall Motor's five major brands of Haval, Tank, Euler, Pickup truck and Wei brand will be listed overseas. For example, the Wei brand Coffee 01 will be delivered in the European market in the first half of 2022; the Haval H6 PHEV and tank 500 HEV have been unveiled at the 38th Thailand International Automobile Expo... With the continuous launch of the above products, Great Wall Motors' overseas sales will usher in new growth points and further accelerate Great Wall Motors' global layout.

"Localization" in Globalization

Enriching the product matrix and improving the competitiveness of overseas products is only the first step of Great Wall Motors. On this basis, in order to achieve a real sense of globalization, Great Wall Motors is also actively transforming the export model, from a single export type and a trade type to a localized deep-ploughing model, and systematically participating in international competition by establishing and improving the global overseas research and development, factory, service system and user ecology.

In terms of R&D, Great Wall Motor has established overseas R&D centers and technology innovation centers in Japan, the United States, Canada, Germany, India, Austria and South Korea. It has built a global R&D layout with China headquarters as the core, covering Europe, Asia and North America, and its R&D and design personnel have reached more than 15,000 people. It is reported that in the future, Great Wall Motors will continue to increase investment in cultivating R&D talents, and by 2023, Great Wall Motors' global R&D personnel are expected to reach 30,000 people, of which 10,000 will be software development talents.

In terms of production, in addition to China's top ten full-process vehicle production bases, Great Wall Motors also has three full-process vehicle production bases in Russia, Thailand and Brazil, as well as a number of KD plants in Ecuador, Malaysia, Tunisia and other places.

Among them, the Tula plant in Russia is the first overseas full-process factory of Chinese car companies, and it is also a landmark project for Great Wall Motors to really go global. Empowered by highly intelligent production strength, the Tula plant has realized the localization production of haval F7/F7x, Haval H9, Haval JOLION and other models.

The Rayong plant in Thailand, which will be officially put into operation in June 2021, is Great Wall Motor's second overseas full-process vehicle manufacturing plant. From taking over to officially putting into production, it took only 7 months to show the speed of the Great Wall. On January 27, 2022, Great Wall Motors completed the official closing of its Plant in Hiracemapolis in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Great Wall Motor will carry out intelligent and digital transformation of the plant and put it into operation in the second half of 2023, with an estimated annual production capacity of 100,000 units. With the advantage of Brazil's location, it radiates the entire Latin American market such as Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.

In addition to the full-process plant, Great Wall Motor's existing KD business is also developing steadily. Great Wall Motors is also actively exploring a number of new markets, including countries along the Belt and Road, and will be put into production in 2022.

In terms of ecological construction, over the years, Great Wall Motors has insisted on uniting global giants in various industries to jointly create a future automotive industry ecology. Relevant information shows that Great Wall Motors has developed into strategic partnerships with many internationally renowned suppliers such as Continental, Bosch, Webasto, Ricardo, BorgWarner, ZF, Hella, etc., to create a parts ecology with internal and external integration and development, and to strongly ensure product quality. In 2018, Great Wall Motor signed a joint venture cooperation agreement with BMW to establish "Beam Automotive Co., Ltd." with a 50:50 share ratio. The joint venture will integrate the technology, resources and management advantages of both parties to face the world and focus on the launch of new energy vehicles.

Product export, R & D layout, overseas factories, ecological construction... Every step Great Wall Motor takes is thoughtfully considered: globalization is not simply the sale of products, but also the output of brands. "New energy and intelligence provide new development opportunities for Chinese brands, including Great Wall Motors." Sun Guang said, "In the face of opportunities, we will innovate and break the game from product dimensions, operating models, and brand building." Looking at the layout and planning of Great Wall Motors, we have reason to believe that in 2022, the globalization of Great Wall Motors will be on a higher level.