2023: Examining Great Wall Motors' Momentum and Comeback Potential

For any automaker, it’s undoubtedly a cause for celebration when brand strength rapidly soars, enabling the company to outpace the market and swiftly ramp up sales. Yet, considering both current conditions and past experiences, once this critical milestone is successfully crossed, the question of "how to defend ground" will inevitably become the pressing challenge for those in the game—regardless of whether sudden market shifts down the road might trigger deeper developmental bottlenecks. Will they boldly push forward toward even higher sales volumes and profits, or wisely choose to slow down, adopting a more measured, step-by-step approach? This is a question no automaker can afford to ignore. Now, as this crucial decision looms before Great Wall Motor—a company that has maintained annual sales above one million vehicles for seven consecutive years—everyone is eagerly awaiting what answer this industry leader will ultimately provide.
Under the backdrop of a chip shortage and the transformative shifts sweeping the automotive industry, a careful analysis of Great Wall Motors' achievements in 2022—marked by its unwavering commitment to embracing new energy, intelligent technologies, and globalization—reveals a company that firmly adheres to a long-term vision. Despite facing short-term market challenges and being tempted by fleeting opportunities for quick gains, Great Wall Motors has demonstrated remarkable strategic resilience in staying true to its ambitious long-term goals. As we step into 2023, Great Wall Motors continues to leverage its "forest ecosystem" as a robust foundation, expand its global footprint, and drive growth through innovative products, positioning itself to dominate the burgeoning new-energy market, strengthen its global brand presence, and accelerate its journey toward sustained corporate advancement.

Looking back at Great Wall Motor's 2022, the year can be summarized by three key words: new energy, intelligent technology, and globalization. "By 2025, the sales share of Haval's new-energy vehicles will rise to 80%; and in 2030, Haval will officially discontinue the production of fuel-powered cars." Back in late August 2022, Haval—a brand that once reigned supreme as the king of SUVs in the traditional internal-combustion engine era—soundly announced its full-scale pivot toward new-energy vehicles. Leveraging years of strategic investments in core technologies such as hybrid, pure electric, and hydrogen power, Great Wall Motor is now leveraging cutting-edge innovation as its cornerstone, exporting high-value new-energy products globally with a reverse-engineering approach.
At the 25th Chengdu International Auto Show, Haval’s third-generation H6 DHT-PHEV, Tank 500 PHEV, Mocha (spec/quote) DHT-PHEV, Ballet Cat (spec/quote), Lightning Cat, Shan Hai Po (spec/quote), and Mech Dragon—along with other heavyweight models—made a powerful collective appearance, sending an exceptionally clear message to the outside world: Great Wall Motors has resolutely embraced new energy vehicles across the board. While fully ramping up its presence in the new-energy market, Great Wall Motors also recognizes that intelligent technology is the true key to determining success in the second half of the automotive industry’s transformative battle. In 2022, Great Wall Motors launched its "Heavy Perception"-based urban assisted driving system—City NOH—a cutting-edge ADAS feature specifically designed for urban environments and traffic conditions, which will first be rolled out on the WEY Mocha DHT-PHEV.
In 2022, the penetration rate of intelligent models among Great Wall Motors' vehicles reached 86.17%. Further analysis of Great Wall Motors' intelligent strategy reveals a clear rationale: refusing to trade scale for low prices, ensuring healthy business growth, steadfastly pursuing brand elevation, and maintaining unwavering commitment to deepening R&D investments while simultaneously perfecting its comprehensive industrial ecosystem. In terms of R&D spending, Great Wall Motors invested a total of 8.544 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2022, representing a year-on-year increase of 64.74%. "There’s absolutely no downside to taking our automotive brands global," said Wei Jianjun, Chairman of Great Wall Motors. "Only by going overseas can we truly identify both our gaps and our unique strengths." Standing at the new milestone of surpassing one million vehicles sold abroad, Great Wall Motors unveiled its ONE GWM global strategy in December 2022, boldly entering key overseas markets such as Brazil and Europe. Notably, in mid-October, Great Wall Motors showcased its heavyweight new energy offerings—including the WEY Mocha PHEV (Coffee 01) and the Latte PHEV (Coffee 02)—at the 2022 Paris Motor Show, effectively paving the way for a second growth curve in the global market.
In 2022, Great Wall Motors achieved cumulative overseas sales of 173,180 vehicles for the entire year, representing a year-on-year increase of 21.28%. Meanwhile, the company’s total overseas sales have already surpassed 1 million units. Clearly, Great Wall Motors has taken the lead among China’s independent-brand automakers in its global expansion.
Indeed, over the past year, Great Wall Motors has achieved remarkable milestones in new energy, intelligent technologies, and globalization—areas where others have struggled to keep pace. The company’s cumulative sales for the year settled at 1.06 million vehicles, marking the seventh consecutive year of exceeding one million units sold. However, it’s undeniable that Great Wall Motors’ strategic restructuring has been driven by several significant, objectively unavoidable challenges. These include supply shortages of critical raw materials like semiconductors, which have temporarily constrained production, as well as broader issues such as weak consumer confidence. On a more subjective level, in order to realign its strategic priorities, Great Wall Motors has streamlined certain product lines, reluctantly phasing out several high-volume models. For instance, iconic yet foundational vehicles like the Black Cat and White Cat were decisively discontinued, allowing the company to redirect resources toward more promising offerings, such as the Ballet Cat and Lightning Cat.
Moreover, the electric and intelligent transformation is by no means an overnight process—or something that can be achieved in just one city or region. It involves a host of systemic challenges, including supply-chain adjustments, the restructuring of R&D systems, and a fundamental shift in corporate mindset. We need to give Great Wall Motors the time it needs to undergo this transformation and adapt accordingly. In the context of industry-wide upheaval, this is a painful but inevitable phase that every company must go through. Yet, viewed from a different perspective, what Great Wall Motors experienced in 2022 may actually have been more like gathering momentum for greater things ahead.

“Building cars has never been a 100-meter sprint—it’s a never-ending marathon.” Opportunity and success have always belonged to those who embrace long-term thinking. Over the past two decades, Great Wall Motors has turned every seemingly insurmountable challenge into a chance to push beyond its own limits—and that remains true today. At the start of 2023, Great Wall Motors made two moves that caught everyone’s attention: First, it decisively adjusted its sales and net profit targets for 2023 to “no less than 1.6 million vehicles” and “no less than 6 billion yuan,” respectively. Second, at the Haikou Auto Show, the company unveiled the brand-new flagship six-seat intelligent SUV from WEY—the Lanshan DHT-PHEV—as well as the Haval H-Dog.
The former reflects Great Wall Motor's stance: it doesn’t blindly chase short-term gains but instead sets its profit targets within a reasonable range, helping the company stay grounded and focused on steady progress. The latter refers to the brand-new offerings from WEY and Haval—two major brands under Great Wall Motor—that are making their mark in the burgeoning new-energy vehicle market. These launches underscore Great Wall Motor’s unwavering commitment to fully embracing clean energy solutions, no matter how unpredictable or challenging the market landscape may become. In 2023, Great Wall Motor plans to unveil more than 10 innovative new-energy products across key segments, including mainstream markets, niche categories, and the premium segment. The new-energy vehicle race is essentially a marathon—where victory remains uncertain, and the competitive dynamics are still evolving. Ultimately, success will hinge on a company’s ability to build deep-rooted expertise, swiftly execute its strategic vision, and adeptly cultivate a robust, integrated ecosystem for the intelligent mobility industry. Amidst this wave of groundbreaking product innovation, Great Wall Motor isn’t just refining its existing lineup of high-value, electrified vehicles and strengthening its brand positioning—it’s also proactively laying the groundwork by reshaping its organizational structure and nurturing a comprehensive ecosystem. This ensures that every aspect of its operations is equipped with the necessary support to thrive in an increasingly dynamic and competitive industry.
At the core of its strategy, Great Wall Motors is pursuing a comprehensive layout across the entire automotive industry chain, making it one of the Chinese automakers with the most complete industrial ecosystem today. Riding the wave of new-energy and intelligent technologies, Great Wall Motors has proactively positioned itself at the forefront, establishing a full-fledged, multi-dimensional industrial ecosystem that spans from cutting-edge new-energy technologies and products to advanced intelligent driving solutions—including wire-controlled chassis systems, smart cockpit technologies, and robust AI-driven computing platforms. Notably, the company has already achieved industry-leading positions in key areas such as new energy, autonomous driving, hydrogen energy, and perovskite technology, effectively serving as the "super mother enterprise" behind several unicorn startups. As of 2023, with the gradual phasing out of new-energy subsidies, China's new-energy vehicle industry is poised to enter a fully market-driven growth phase. In this evolving landscape, Great Wall Motors' robust, integrated ecosystem, sound financial health, and unwavering ability to precisely meet consumer demands will undoubtedly become critical competitive advantages—setting the stage for a remarkable turnaround on the horizon.
It is precisely through repeated trials that Great Wall Motors continues to refine itself while simultaneously achieving groundbreaking new breakthroughs. On the relentless journey toward proactively shaping its future, Great Wall Motors has never paused. Amidst these profound transformations, the future looks bright—indeed, we are fully confident that, after navigating challenges and fine-tuning along the way, Great Wall Motors will soon emerge in the Chinese automotive market—and even the global automotive arena—with an entirely refreshed and revitalized presence.

Translated from Sina Auto

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