THE AUSTRALIAN MOTOR market is changing rapidly, with new makes and models already here, or scheduled to arrive in the near future.
Chinese brand Great Wall has just announced a new mid-size utility at the Shanghai Motor Show, the P-Series Ute (model naming still has a way to go in China!) Aimed initially at the domestic Chinese market, the P-Series is part of Great Wall’s global plans to sell 200,000 vehicles. To put that into perspective, Toyota sold almost 550,000 HiLux pick-ups globally last year. Ford, by comparison, moved 267,000 Rangers.
Prime markets for Great Wall will be North America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Middle East and South America.
Great Wall sales in Australia peaked at 11,006 units in 2012, but the awarding of a five-star ANCAP rating for Great Wall gives it the potential to play among the big sellers such as Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger and Mitsubishi Triton.
Great Wall’s current ute is the Steed, but new models will move upmarket with a passenger variant and a more tradie-oriented commercial model, and there’s an off-road version in the pipeline along the lines of the Ford Ranger Raptor and Toyota HiLux Rugged X.
Still in Shanghai, Chinese SUV specialist Haval (a subsidiary of Great Wall) has given strong hints as to its new design future with the Vision 2025 Concept. The Vision 2025 will win over many converts if its design characteristics are carried over into a new model with slim, semi-hexagonal headlights, colour-matched, filled-in grille and an integrated, smooth silhouette.
At the same time, Haval has announced it will launch a new marketing campaign in Australia. Arriving here in 2016, sales have been slow, with just 710 sales in 2017. The new campaign will be aimed at removing the negative stigma attached to Chinese vehicles, rather than concentrating on the previous value-focused approach that only tends to reinforce the perception of cheap and cheerful.
Another name that has all-but disappeared from the Australian market is Malaysian Proton.
News from Shanghai is that the brand will relaunch in Australia with a new range, using models created through a joint venture with Chinese automotive giant Geely, following its purchase of a 49 percent stake in the Malaysian company in 2017. Whilst still nominally available locally, Proton’s aging models (Exora, Preve and Suprima S) have virtually disappeared with just one recorded sale last year.
Geely’s plans are to attack right-hand drive markets, including Australia, with a range of Geely-sourced and co-developed Proton models.
Another Chinese automotive colossus, SAIC, is planning to widen its SUV range in Australia, starting with the all-new, mid-size LDV D60 SUV. It should arrive in Australia late next year (2020). Aimed at a younger market, the D60 is based on the Maxus Tarantula EV concept first seen at the Beijing Motor Show last year.