Great Wall News

Great Wall has a homegrown camper in its lineup and it is about to be evaluated as a potential starter in Australia.  A single vehicle is being imported and, if trials go well, a right-hand drive package will be developed for sales sometime in 2011 with a pricetag in the $50,000 range."I think it could have a lot of potential. It would need some work but the basics look right," says Rick Hull, head of the Great Wall importer, Ateco Automotive."The only real problem is that the door to the camper is on the wrong  side for Australia, as it's not against the kerb. But Great Wall are incredibly helpful on that sort of stuff so it wouldn't be a problem."The camper uses a slide-on conversion over the Great Wall dual-cab ute already sold in Australia. It has a diesel engine in China but would  likely be imported to run on either petrol or diesel in Australia.The camper has a double bed in the nose, with two fold-out singles in the living area, as well as a toilet and shower. It is well finished, although - based on one I saw in China - the final finishing on the joins between the camper and ute are sub-standard for local buyers.Ateco is already one of Australia's leading suppliers of camper conversions through its Fiat commercial line-up and Hull is confident it would do well against rival including the Fiat, Toyota and Volkswagen campers which dominate here."The big advantage is the shower and toilet. As far as I know, this is the only one that has it," says Hull.  He says Ateco's engineers will have the evaluation vehicle within two months and a decision on local sales should be made before the end of the year."There is nothing else like it. And the price would be very attractive. I think it could be a real winner for us."

Both the Camry and the Great Wall Motors X240 are tipped to get four out of a possible five-stars in the latest Australian New Car Assessment Program's crash test results due out this morning.Toyota was quick to take a swipe at Great Wall Motors, releasing a statement early this morning critical of the result. Spokesman, Mike Breen, said ANCAP needed to look at the way it did its testing."Toyota Australia rejects as a distortion any suggestion that Camry models provided a level of safety that was the same as cars without vital life-saving technology or have fewer than Camry's six standard airbags," he said. Breen said the Camry delivered a 'comprehensive package of both active and passive safety'.The Camry hybrid, which is built at Altona, has six airbags and stability control while the X240 gets by with just two airbags and anti-skid brakes. At $23,990, it is $13,000 cheaper than the Camry hybrid.ANCAP chair, Lauchlan McIntosh, said Toyota was being 'a bit fragile' about the result. "Toyota has a history of deliberately leaving features off their cars when other manufacturers have put them on," he said.McIntosh was critical of the length of time it took for the Corolla to get stability control and the Prius to get side curtain airbags."Are they saying that no other manufacturer has the right to do what they did? The real question is why are the manufacturers still down-specifying their vehicles."Toyota acknowledged that ANCAP results are one measure that can help consumers identify cars that are safe. However, they said it was critical that the testing does not specifically look at the life-saving benefits of stability control, traction control and anti-skid brakes, all of which are standard on the Camry.Two other locally made rivals, the Ford Falcon and the Holden Commodore, have five-star ratings.

The result is achieved in Australia by a family SUV produced by the Great Wall brand and the score ties the four-star effort of the locally-made Toyota Camry hybrid.  Both are short of the maximum five-star rating of the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon, but the Great Wall result is a massive improvement on the paltry two-star rating achieved last year by the brand's four-door ute in Australian New-Car Assessment Program tests.The official ANCAP results for the Great Wall SUV and Camry hybrid will not be made public for another week but the four-star performance is already common knowledge in the motor industry."It is too early to comment, but we are very confident," the head of the Great Wall importer, Rick Hull of Ateco Automotive, told the Herald-Sun today in China.Hull is leading a group of journalists on a visit to Great Wall, as well as the Chery brand - which Ateco will also import from later this year - and the Auto China show in Beijing at the end of this week.  He believes Chinese cars are improving rapidly and the crash-test result shows Great Wall's commitment to safety. Journalists will see the Great Wall safety facility and its crashlab this week as one of the keys to understanding the brand and its sales plans for Australia."They had engineers at the original ute test by ANCAP and have been working very hard since. We know the work they have done beefing up the chassis of the SUV and it will flow into the utes," Hull said.

The three companies with Australia in their sights - Great Wall, Chery and Geely - are all expected to unveil new value-driven compacts and SUVs at the country's biggest annual motoring event.  Great Wall is the only brand with vehicles already in local showrooms, a dual-cab ute and SUV, but Chery and Geely will both hit the road down under before the end of 2010.BYD, a technology leader for China, is also planning to reveal its first plug-in electric cars in Beijing although it currently has no plans to sell overseas.  All 47 of China's manufacturers are expected to have something new at the show, with a move away from the copycat designs of the past - everything from the Rolls-Royce Phantom to the BMW X5 was either parodied or duplicated - to unique Chinese designs."They will all show their new export cars," says Ric Hull, the Ateco Automotive executive responsible for the Great Wall and Chery brands.  Hull says the Chinese car industry is advancing so rapidly it is hard to keep tabs on the new-model action."I think everything has to be seen in the context of the market. The Chinese made and sold about 13.6 million vehicles last year, and the US was 10.4 million," he says.  "They have not only eclipsed the US, they have gone way beyond them. In good years the US is 17 million, but the Chinese are there already."In the first quarter of this year, they have sold 4.6 million vehicles. So you're now talking 18 or 20 million a year. It's just gone bezerk.  "The thing that fascinates me most is how anyone can lift production to those levels. I don't believe the Japanese could do it, or even the Koreans."Hull says Ateco is already on track with additions to the Great Wall range including a single-cab ute, with Chery to hit first with a compact SUV.  "We'll launch Chery in August. It has just been an agonizing process to get the compliance issues in place, but it will be fine."I'm hoping to launch a RAV4-kind of vehicle at a really good price.  "Great Wall are talking about a 1.5-litre car that we'll introduce before the end of the year. They are getting there and getting there awfully, awfully quickly."Hull says he is expecting rapid improvement in Chinese vehicles, with quality and safety as top priorities.  Great Wall is just about to face its second ANCAP crash-test barrier in Australia and, following the miserable two-star result for the ute, Hull is hoping for a four-star rating for the brand's SUV."We took a hammering from NCAP on the utes but Great Wall reacted and they have made a lot of changes," Hull says.  Car sales in China are so important that all the world's major makers will be displaying in Beijing.Even though many skipped last year's Tokyo Motor Show, previously the world's equal number one with Frankfurt every two years, no-one can afford to miss the biggest motoring event in China.  There were more than a dozen world previews at the last Beijing show and a lot of the action is at the upmarket end of the business in 2010.Ferrari is unveiling its new go-faster flagship, the 599 GTO, and Mercedes-Benz will reveal an update of the $1.5 million Maybach ultra- luxury limousine.

The current benchmark is the Proton S16, which will be priced from $10,990 in June, but the first Chinese imports are more likely to be priced against the Hyundai Getz in the $13,990 zone.Baby cars from Great Wall and Chery are expected first from China, followed by Geely, and the man leading the push says he is more worried about value than a rock-bottom price.  "We're not even trying to get to $10,990. Absolutely not. We don't see Proton as a big deal, to be honest," says Neville Crichton, boss of the Great Wall and Chery importer, Ateco."We'd like to stay, probably, dollar-for-dollar, where Hyundai is. But with better specced cars."  Crichton plans to have a 1.4-litre Great Wall car in showrooms in July, alongside a RAV4-size SUV, with the first Chery just a month later, and he is pushing value ahead of a rock-bottom price."We'll have better value in the cars. We will launch with a small SUV, the same size as a RAV4, which we will put in the market under $20,000, drive-away. It will be very competitive.  "I think it's just good-value motor cars. That's exactly what we're selling - good, reliable, economic transport."Great Wall is already underway with an SUV and ute and, despite a poor two-star ANCAP safety rating and a recall for the ute, Crichton predicts sales of around 8000 vehicles through 2010.  But he has much bigger plans when Chery and Great Wall get into gear."We certainly see that within three years we'll be selling in excess of 20,000 Chinese vehicles, between the two brands."  Ateco has huge experience as an independent importer, currently holding franchises from Ferrari to Citroen and Fiat, but its biggest volume success was with Kia. It took the brand to a major presence in Australia before Kia decided to buy the business back and Crichton says there is no reason he cannot do it again."We had a huge success with Kia, taking it to 26,000. They've had three years and they still haven't got back to that."  Crichton knows the safety concerns surrounding the Chinese cars but says his brands are moving rapidly away from their copycat roots, tweaking existing designs from western brands, and are capable of doing better than the two-star score for the Great Wall pickup."We would like a minimum of three stars. I think thtat's a good start.    With two airbags," he says.

The total for Great Wall alone, with Chery and Geely to join the action around the middle of this year, will hit 8000 vehicles by the end of 2010.  So says star importer Neville Crichton, whose company Ateco has a long list of successes including a 26,000-year with Kia before the Korean company bought the farm back in Australia."In five years we'll see the Chinese with a major, major share of the Australian market," says Crichton.  "I see no reason why we can't do the same (as Kia) with the Chinese brands. We certainly see that within three years we'll be selling in excess of 20,000 Chinese vehicles, between our two brands, Great Wall and Chery."There is already a Great Wall pickup and SUV in Australia, with Chery about to open with a RAV4-sized SUV at $19,990 drive-away and a 1.4-litre car as the price leader. But Crichton says there will not be a sub-$10,000 car in the Chery family."We'd like to stay, probably, dollar-for-dollar, where Hyundai is. But with better specced cars," he says.  He also sees a surprising twist, as the Chinese brands target Japan ahead of Korea.  "I don't see the Japanese disappearing, but I think the Chinese cars will affect them more than the Koreans. Strictly on price,” Crichton says."If you walked into one of their factories, blindfolded, you would think it was Volkswagen or Audi factory. They are getting very good, very quickly.  "We've got a lot of faith in our Chinese partners."While Ateco has Great Wall and Chery - at least a first - the Geely brand will be imported by John Hughes of Perth. He plans to have three WA dealers operating around midyear, with a progressive national rollout.

Suzuki Australia general manager, Tony Devers, is one of several car executives who believe the Chinese still have some way to go to gain credibility among local buyers, saying they are still an unknown quality on the Australian scene. "They still have a long way to go," he says. Devers comments come as North Americans say they are warming to Chinese cars.A survey of 30,000 new vehicle buyers by Automotive analyst firm, AutoPacific, found that 15 per cent of US new car buyers say they will consider buying their next vehicle from China and 11 per cent will consider an Indian car, without knowing specific brands or vehicles. This compares with 16 per cent who say they will consider a vehicle from Korea, which has been marketing vehicles in the US since the 1980s.Devers believes that to succeed here the local Chinese cars will need to be at least $1500 cheaper, with comparable equipment and safety to the Japanese. "China is still an unknown," he says."It's a difficult job to launch a car today. It took the Japanese many years to establish here, the Koreans were quicker and I expect the Chinese to be quicker again."Malaysian carmaker, Proton, which sells far less vehicles here than Suzuki, is confident of beating the Chinese on price. Proton Australia managing director, John Startari, says the company's new small Saga sedan is part of a wider plan to help battle the Chinese. The new well-equipped small car is expected to sell for around $12,000 when it arrives early next year.The other Chinese challenge is from small vans and commercials. Suzuki's Devers says he is still keen to broaden Suzuki's light commercial vans from the APV but the global financial crisis has slowed progress. "It will be steady as she goes for another 18 months," he says.Suzuki sources its 1.0-litre Alto from a state-of-the art plant in India. However, Devers says the quality of the car is as good as anything out of Japan.Sydney based Ateco Automotive Ltd is spearheading the Chinese push. It has recently launched the Great Wall Motors workhorse utilities and is expected to follow up with a range of small cars. Already several new Chinese cars and one four-wheel-drive are going through homologation to meet Australian design rules. Ateco is also looking at Chery cars.

...we go electric.More specifically we investigate the promise of electric cars.We are starting to hear that they are close to arriving on our streets but you know what I think there is one thing we are forgetting. Not everyone drives their car into a garage every night were there is a power point and extension cord standing by.Most people, especially in city areas where you would think electric cars will be more popular to start with, park their cars on the street at night.So how do they recharge their batteries? Well there is a new scheme being planned for Canberra that will see recharging stations installed in car parks and other public places.Plus...in the old days tradies and farmers pretty much had the choice of just a couple of manufacturers when it came to their vehicles.Now a days however the range of commercial vehicles available is huge. There is about to be even more competition with the introduction of Chinese made Great Wall Motors utes.Mahindra Australia has also unveiled a brand new model of their pik up range.For all this and much more, listen to the podcast above. 

The closer China becomes, this progress — specifically its advances in manufacturing — comes sharply into focus. Maliciously still ridiculed as the global origin of sub-standard goods, China is showing that it has been grossly misunderstood. And to their peril, its detractors may continue to ignore the alarming ability for China to achieve rapid financial and manufacturing strength.Ric Hull, the managing director of Australian car distributor, Ateco Automotive, is on his 25th business visit to China. This time he is cementing relationships with two Chinese car makers following the introduction of one brand, Great Wall Motors, onto the Australian market last month. Even after nearly 20 years of visits, he admits to being constantly staggered by the nation's progress. "Money appears to be unlimited," he says. "This is not a third-world country."Fifteen years ago private car ownership was unheard of. There are now 176 million private vehicles on Chinese roads and to meet demand, there are about 60 domestic carmakers building and selling one-million units a month — bigger than any country." Ateco now distributes Great Wall Motors' (GWM) two dual-cab ute models through 46 Australian dealers. It's a modest start but sales expansion and new models — deliberately priced 10-15 per cent below comparative Korean-made vehicles are coming. And coming fast.Hull says GWM's two commercial utes will be joined by the Hover H3 4WD and a single-cab ute variant before the end of this year. The Florid (a five-door hatch not unlike a Suzuki Swift) follows in early 2010, then a smaller hatch (the Phenom) and a sub-$25,000 seven-seat people mover are planned for release through that year. (If the names are frightening, Hull assures they'll be replaced for the Australian market).There's even a startlingly well-equipped and finished camper van based on the dual-cab ute that is being eyed by Ateco as suitable for Australia's camper rental industry.The Chinese assault being prepared by Ateco next year will also include products from China's fifth-biggest vehicle maker, Chery. Already confirmed for next year is the Chery A1 — a 1.3-litre hatchback but Hull says that single model could not sustain the brand in Australia. So the A1 will be quickly followed with bigger passenger car derivatives, including the pretty Mazda3-sized A3. "They also have a diesel van — similar to the now defunct Kia Pregio that we're almost salivating over," he says, "because it will be a very, very popular seller in Australia."Ateco's plans for Chery and GWM are parallel though they'll be offered to different dealers and occupy different showrooms. "There'll be some dealers selling both but they'll have to be stand-alone operations," he says. Ateco is yet to sign Chery. Hull is awaiting final specifications before completing a business case and selecting dealers.He indicates that the much smaller GWM company — which only started mainstream carmaking in 1990 and is one-fifth the size of Chery is faster at making business decisions and more open to tailoring vehicles for specific Australian needs.Comparisons with China's progress in automotive manufacture are made with that of Japan and Korea. Everyone, including GWM CEO, Madam Wang, agree that there are similarities. But there is a difference. Time. Hull expects companies such as GWM to take half the time of Korea to reach global market and product maturity.Madam Wang, China's only woman car boss, is aware of criticism about the quality of earlier, domestic-only vehicles. She believes GWM's smaller 1.3 to 1.5-litre cars are almost equal to the Japanese in terms of quality but believes the mid-size 2-litre models have about four years to go to be on par with the Japanese rivals. "We can match the quality of Lexus in seven to eight years," she says. "But in terms of (engine) performance, there is still a big gap.""We forecast we will have five-star Euro NCAP (safety standard) car ratings by 2011." GWM has a seemingly minor 7-8 per cent of the enormous Chinese domestic market though is regarded as being one of the better quality manufacturers. "In our smaller cities, buyers have price as the most important issue," Madam Wang says. "In the bigger cities, like Beijing and Shanghai, buyers want quality and brand image. We sell better in the bigger cities."That quality image will be further tested when GWM in 2011 takes on the locally-made BMW models. "The luxury BMW sells for one-million RMB (about $200,000) but we believe we can get a similar car in style and luxury on the market for RMB400,000 (about $80,000)," she says. "The difference between pricing is a branding issue and some technical issues."That car is believed to be based on GWM's recently shown CHC011 four-door coupe concept, a 5m-long limousine now with a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine and five-speed automatic transmission. A relatively unknown Chinese car company with aspirations of taking on BMW would, in normal circumstances, be laughable. But to Madam Wang and her company of 200,000 employees, taking on BMW is entirely possible.

A pair of Great Wall Utes are the spearhead of what is predicted to be a growing tide of Chinese-made vehicles heading into the Australian market.However, neither of the Great Wall models have electronic stability control. The base model SA220 also goes without airbags or anti-lock brakes.When the Indian-built Mahindra Pik-Up gets its suite of airbags and anti-lock brakes in July and the Toyota LandCruiser Troopie follows suit in August (if industry rumours are correct) it will leave the SA220 as the only car available for sale in Australia without a single airbag.Neither of the Chinese models has been crashed tested for an ANCAP safety rating. A Great Wall Motors spokesman yesterday said the car had been crash-tested in China. However, he said: "We are assured that the company's own crash testing is to the same standard as ANCAP."The company will offer the V240 in 4x2 and 4x4 configurations, while the SA220 will be a 4x2 proposition only, but the brand's Australian importer, Ateco Automotive, claims both vehicles offer value for money workhorses for Australian buyers.A network of 45 dealers will back the vehicles with a three-year 100,000km warranty and sell the V240 4x2 for $23,990, with the 4x4 variant an extra $3000; the SA220 will retail for $19,990. The features list includes power windows, alloy wheels, leather trimmed seats and air conditioning.Ateco Automotive managing director Ric Hull says Great Wall is one of China's leading car makers. "It has been consistently at the top of its domestic car market with its Ute and SUV models."Hull says every mainstream car and component manufacturer is represented in China and the car industry there has come a long way in a very short time. "From day one we have been thoroughly impressed with Great Wall. World-class production facilities are becoming commonplace in China and there is no doubt that Great Wall has set a production benchmark.Hull says the company's culture is impressive - with a motto of "improving little by little every day ... We targeted Great Wall for our Chinese plans because they are highly disciplined, organised and well-led," he says.