Great Wall Motors Marketing Mix

INTRODUCTION :

Founded in 1984, the Great Wall Motors company is headquartered in Baoding, China. The company is involved in production and sales of automobiles and auto-parts. The main market of Great Wall Motors is China. It is also China’s largest SUV and pickup manufacturer. However, the brand is also planning its foray into the other major Asian markets including India in the next few years. In 2018, its sales volume and net operating revenue, both experienced a slight decline. While the sales of passenger vehicles of GWM declined in 2018 compared to 2017, the sales of electric cars and hybrids found solid growth. The brand also launched several new models in 2018 of its Haval, Wey and Ora cars. GWM remains the dominant SUV manufacturer in China. Despite a challenging 2018, it successfully achieved sales of more than one million vehicle units. GWM is poised for next stage of growth. However, the brand nearly halved its R&D expenditure in 2018 as compared to 2017.

Read more about GWM and its four P’s including Product, Place, Price and Promotions in this marketing mix.

Product:

Great Wall Motors of China has brought a large range of products including sedans, SUVs and pickups. The company is a leading seller of SUVs in the China market. China has grown into the world’s largest automobile market. This market is full of opportunities for the automobile brands.  Apart from the GWM brand, the company also owns the Haval brand. Haval celebrated the sales of its 5 million vehicles in 2019. By the end of 2018, the total global sales of Haval motors had reached above 5 million. GWM makes and sells, c30 sedans, H6 and M4 model SUVs and Wingle series of pickups which include Wingle 5, 6 and 7 models. Great Wall Motors also owns the Wey brand which is the first Chinese brand of luxury SUVs. Wey range of vehicles includes 5 commercial vehicles and one concept car. In 2018, Great Wall Motors also released its ORA electric car. The company is investing in R&D to expand its range of vehicles.

Place: 

The Great Wall Motors is headquartered in Baoding, China. Its main market is also China which accounts for its largest part of revenue. Apart from that, some of the other leading markets significant in terms of sales and revenue include Iran, Russia, South Africa, Chile and Ecuador. Great Wall Motors has also launched its first overseas production facility in Russia in 2018 where production has begun in 2019. The Great Wall Motors Tula factory in Russia was built with an investment of $500 million and has a production capability of 150,000 cars. Haval Motors also has 8 R&D facilities around the world. The company is now planning to grow its penetration of the global market and expand its presence in new ones including India by 2021-2022. The GWM group also has overseas R&D centres in Japan, South Korea, India, Germany, Austria, the United States.  

Price:

Apart from its luxury brand Wey, the vehicles made by GWM are priced competitively. It caters to both upper end segments and the average middle class consumers through its mixed pricing strategy. However, a large part of its vehicle range is available at average costs. Compared to most international car brands, these cars are priced competitively to achieve higher sales. However, these cars are still good in terms of efficiency and overall quality.

Promotion:

GWM uses a mix of traditional and modern channels for promotions and marketing. In the recent years, for overseas expansion, the company has increased its focus and expenditure on marketing, In 2018, the company spent RMB 2 billion on advertising and media promotions. Apart from the company’s own website and its sales channels in China, the company uses other channels too including auto-shows and media promotions. It is now using digital channels including country specific websites to grow its market penetration and for promotion of individual products. 

Conclusion :

GWM is a Chinese car manufacturer and the leading seller of SUVs in the Chinese market. Apart from SUVs, the company has also brought  a nice range of Sedans and Pickups. While, China is the core market for GWM products, the company has been able to expand its footprint into other markets including South Africa, Russia and Iran. The company has also brought a range of luxury vehicles under the WEY brand name. In 2018, BMW signed a joint venture contract with GWM for the production of battery electric MINI vehicles in China. Now, GWM is investing in overseas expansion and opened its Tula factory in Russia in 2018.

For faster growth, it is also investing heavily in marketing and promotions. It has established R&D centers in several countries including Japan, South Korea and Germany and expects to enter more Asian markets by 2021-2022. While the company has maintained a competitive pricing strategy, it has been less aggressive in terms of promotions as compared to leading international vehicle brands. GWM’s products are known for their quality and efficiency. It should utilise  digital technology and social media for promotions as well as improved customer engagement.