Great Wall Motor's January Auto Sales down 20% YOY, Eclipsed by Peers

Automotive Author: Niko Yang Editor: Tao Ni Feb 17, 2022 09:25 AM (GMT+8)

With a colossal backlog, the company has suspended receiving new orders for some NEV models

Great Wall Automobile

Great Wall Motor (GWM) recently announced its vehicle sales for January 2022, which dropped by 20% year on year (YOY) to 111,778 units.

Specifically, the internal combustion engine brands led the descent, among which the sales of HAVAL, WEY and GMW PICKUP fell by 26%, 15%, 42%, respectively. 

On the flip side, the delivery of new energy vehicle ORA and TANK shot up 29% and 72%, respectively.

Great Wall's top-selling model, HAVAL H6, logged 35,570 in sales. It has been the number one SUV in China since 2013 in terms of sales. 

But this record may be shattered by competitors like Changan Auto's CS75 and Tesla's Model Y in the future as these two contenders have stronger momentum than H6 in 2021.

TANK, an all-terrain off-road vehicle, is another hit product of strategical importance to GWM. On average the sales of TANK 300 is 10 times that of Jeep Wrangler in China. Nonetheless, the company is still struggling to ramp up production to meet demands.

The ORA series, a compact car model, sold 13,229 vehicles in January, up 29% from the same period last year. 

Despite the spike in orders, its growth momentum slowed as ORA got criticized for ditching chips. In response, Great Wall said it has come up with a solution to restore consumers' confidence.  

Unlike GWM, most homegrown Chinese car brands posted solid results last month. Most notably, passenger car sales of Dongfeng soared 189% YoY. 

Changan Auto grew 13% while Chery Automobile advanced 12% and SAIC expanded 18%, respectively, in sales over the same period last year.