In August 2019, Great Wall launched a high-end pickup truck called "Great Wall Cannon" and shouted the slogan of "make pickup trucks popular". At that time, there was a ban on urban pickup trucks; under the consumer solidification psychology that pickup trucks were cheap tool cars, I believe many people would take it as a brand marketing slogan, but this year after three years, it became a reality.
On May 8, 2022, after two years and eight months, the 300,000th vehicle of the Great Wall Gun was officially rolled off the production line at the Great Wall Chongqing Smart Factory, reviewing the development process of the Great Wall Gun from 100,000 to 300,000, getting faster and faster, following the second anniversary of 200,000 vehicles, it took only 8 months to achieve a total sales volume of 300,000 vehicles, such achievements even in the SUV market, it is also a popular corner.
As the first Chinese high-end pickup truck brand to exceed 300,000 units, in this conference, in addition to recording an important milestone of 300,000 vehicles, Great Wall Cannon also officially listed passenger guns and commercial gun trailer models, and the market guidance price was increased by 2,000 yuan on passenger guns and commercial gun four-wheel drive AT models. Among them, the trailer plate model has C6 driving trailer traction qualification at the same time, but also equipped with 2.5 tons of trailer qualification, trailer power outlet, etc., further expanding the pickup truck use scene.
So for the Great Wall Cannon, what exactly makes the brand a hit in the Chinese pickup truck market? The Joint Engine believes that it is mainly in these two points.
First, a solid foundation under the one-hit hit
At present, the Great Wall Gun brand is divided into two major models of Great Wall Gun and King Kong Gun, leaving aside the King Kong Gun just listed in March this year, the Great Wall Gun can achieve a continuous increase in sales in two years and eight months, in addition to the vehicle in the appearance, interior, configuration compared to the traditional pickup truck is more exquisite, luxurious and comfortable, the key is that the Great Wall Gun still retains the high passability and durability of the pickup truck.
In terms of passability, taking the off-road version of the Great Wall Gun as an example, under the independent research and development of the 2.0T engine and ZF 8AT, while meeting the emissions of China VI, the use of the front and rear embedded mechanical differential locks also allows the car to have 7 all-terrain driving modes such as snow/sand/standard.
As for durability, on the one hand, in the context of the current Great Wall Gun listing for more than two years, the still rising market sales have proved that the car has a good reputation in the consumer environment. On the other hand, in fact, as early as before the launch of the Great Wall Cannon, Great Wall Motors has already had good results in the pickup truck market, since entering the pickup truck market in 1996, the Great Wall pickup truck has been ranked first in domestic sales for 24 consecutive years from 1998 to 2021, including many of the Deere and Fengjun series that are familiar to the older generation of consumers.
Therefore, for the Great Wall Cannon, such a brand that was born on the shoulders of giants, in the case of mechanical quality in place and enough market word-of-mouth endorsement, can naturally become one of the key elements of the brand's popularity.
Second, the pickup truck standing on the vent
Another key factor in the success of the Great Wall Cannon is that it has successfully stood on the cusp of the times.
From the perspective of market objective factors, the Great Wall Cannon listed in August 2019 encountered the lifting of the ban on pickup trucks entering the city in April 2020, which broadened the market audience of the Great Wall Cannon to a certain extent, and as of now, the cities that have relaxed the restrictions on pickup trucks entering the city have reached more than 70%.
From the perspective of consumers, with the adjustment of the consumption structure of the automobile market, in the context of the market where young consumers need more and diversified models are available, luxury pickup trucks are obviously a unique and highly personalized choice, which is not only reflected in the Great Wall's pickup truck series, but also in the Great Wall Tank.
Of course, when the Great Wall pickup truck is facing the market outlet, the product market adaptability can be as silky as "hot knife butter" in the subdivision of the official reform derivative model, taking the Great Wall shell series as an example, "brigade gun, black bomb, dragon bomb and trailer this time", etc., which is intended to meet the needs of different consumers through the way of segmentation as much as possible.
Therefore, from the overall point of view of the Great Wall pickup truck, the market foundation was laid through excellent product quality in the early days, and when it was the turn of the Great Wall Cannon in the later stage, it used the "group portrait" marketing method that Great Wall Motors excelled at to create a unique "Chinese pickup truck culture" for consumers. It can be said that the Great Wall Cannon has driven the development of China's pickup truck products to a certain extent.
It must be admitted that the current Great Wall Gun series is in line with market demand, but it is worth mentioning that with the current new energy trend becoming more and more obvious, how the Future Great Wall Gun Series will achieve a balance between hard core and environmental protection is the key to sustainable development. After all, in the case of the Ford F150 launching a pure electric version, the Great Wall Gun will choose its own hybrid platform or pure electric mode, which is worth looking forward to.
Summary: Looking back at the market goal of the Great Wall Cannon to "make pickup trucks popular", it is undeniable that the sales volume of 300,000 vehicles is already a sign of the Great Wall Gun's foothold in the Chinese market, but based on the perspective of Great Wall Motors' globalization, the Great Wall Gun wants to impact the global market with pickup trucks with Chinese characteristics, and there is still a distance at present. Of course, we believe that "the sun will rise from the east", with the continuous upgrading of China's automobile industry, Chinese pickup trucks can become a unique existence in the future.