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Customer LoginsGreat Wall's new Wey brand developed by former Audi, BMW executives, to launch models in 2017
Great Wall has launched the new premium Wey brand, developed with former Audi and BMW executives, and in 2017 other Chinese automakers aim to launch a host of affordable premium brands.
IHS Markit Perspective
- Significance: >Not content with gaining market share in China's vast market, local brands are aiming for a slice of the global pie by creating new premium brands with strong influences from Western Europe.
- Implications: The big question is whether a new premium brand such as Wey will be able to steal market share from already established premium players in the market − by offering a premium product at a cheaper price it aims to gain rapid entry into the segment.
- Outlook: Great Wall has been very successful with the Haval brand of SUVs in China, with the H6 continuing to ramp up solid sales this year. Great Wall aims to build on this momentum with the Wey brand, but gaining market share in the Chinese market will be easier than the brand's aim of worldwide sales success.
Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor has launched a new car brand, Wey. The brand was first announced via a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 7 November. The company announced that Wey would be a "new high-end" brand, with the official launch of the brand on 17 November at the Guangzhou Motor Show.
The two models shown at the launch were the W01 and WO2. The new Wey brand will focus on premium "luxury sport utility vehicles" (SUVs), the automaker states in a press release. The models under the Wey brand will be priced at CNY150,000 (USD21,700) or more. The automaker states base prices will be between CNY150,000 and CNY200,000 and the aim is to meet Chinese consumers' growing demand for luxury SUVs.
The brand name Wey is based on the surname of the company founder, Wei Jianjun. The brand logo also has the name 'Paoting' inscribed below, which is the previous form of the translation of the hometown of the brand, Baoding, in China's Hebei province. Wei Jianjun is quoted as saying that using a person's name as a brand name has never before been done in China. He says that he has felt pressure from naming the brand with his surname, but points to the background of surnames in China being more of a link to the past and something that encapsulates a certain heritage worth honouring.
The W01 is expected to be the first model, with a launch date in 2017, followed by the W02. In the press release, Great Wall states that the Wey products have entered a final developmental stage in order to get them ready for their "worldwide release" in April 2017. The Wey brand will offer traditionally powered vehicles, as well as hybrid variants.
Behind the development of these brands are experienced automotive veterans lured from German premium brands Audi and BMW. The automaker states that four years have been spent in the development of the brand. The main international figure behind the development of Wey is CEO Jens Steingraeber. He joined Great Wall four years ago, prior to which he was responsible for the development of the Q3 sport utility vehicle (SUV) at Audi, the premium brand of Volkswagen (VW). The other main figure behind Wey is the chief designer for the brand, Pierre Leclercq, who joined the automaker in 2013 and was previously at BMW.
Outlook and implications
Great Wall is now part of a growing trend of Chinese automakers that aim to jump out of the niche of inexpensive cars destined only for local consumers. Instead, the new Chinese brand envisions its models as having a northern European design, specifically German sturdiness, substance, and power, not least because the strongest premium players in China have been German brands. The rapid penetration of the Chinese market by VW's Audi brand has included a localisation strategy that has allowed the prices of the models to be brought lower than variants built in Germany; however, quality control having been integral to the process has meant that the models have gained the trust of consumers in China. Not far behind, and indeed achieving faster sales growth rates than Audi in recent times, have been BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
So, the trend for Chinese brands is now to develop a new line of products with a significant amount of influence from established industry premium brands, in order to conquer the higher-end passenger vehicle market. With this comes the aim to sell models beyond the local domestic market.
Another brand that has announced a similar strategy, also with models to be launched in 2017, is Zhejiang Geely Holding's new Lynk & Co brand, as well as the resurrected Borgward brand owned by Beijing Automotive Industry Corp's subsidiary Beijing Foton Motor Company.
The Shanghai Motor Show in April 2017 will be the main testing ground for these new 'premium' brands, with the Wey brand expected to launch the W01 model at the show. The automaker promises the W02 in August, as well as the W03. Reportedly, Great Wall has already put CNY10 billion into the new brand since its conception four years ago.
About this article
The above article is from IHS Automotive Same-Day Analysis of automotive news, events and trends, and is a deliverable of the World Markets Automotive Service. The service averages thirty stories per day and also provides competitor and country intelligence. Get a free trial.