G
REAT Wall Motors will
have a local presence
once more, after the
budget Chinese brand
decided to assume
control of its Australian and
NZ operations.
4x4 sales have sky-rocketed
in Australia in recent months,
and Great Wall hopes to cash
in on the growing trend with
this move.
“As demand for utilities
continues to grow, Great Wall
Motors decided now was the
time to take the brand to the
next level by establishing a
direct OE presence here,” said
GWMA Managing Director,
Parker Shi.
Headlining the resurrection
on Aussie soil will be an all-
new Great Wall utility to be
called the Steed. It is slated to
go on sale in Q4 this year.
At this stage it’s understood
the ute line-up will be headed
by a 4x4 turbo-diesel mated
to a six-speed manual, a Borg-Warner Torque-On-Demand
(TOD) four-wheel drive
system and an Eaton diff lock.
Safety features will include
ESP and six airbags as
standard. But let’s just hope
it bucks the trend of Chinese
SUVs and delivers a five-star
ANCAP safety rating!
Great Wall’s Aussie HQ
will be based in Melbourne
alongside sister company
Haval Motors Australia.
“Great Wall will focus on
light commercial vehicles,
with Haval concentrating on
SUVs,” Mr Shi said.
“We are confident this
strategy will allow both
companies to dedicate
their resources into the
two fastest-growing
segments in the Australian
automotive market.”
Pricing for the new Great
Wall range is yet to be
released, so stay tuned to 4X
Australiaand be the first to
know when it drops!GREAT WALL TO
RETURN TO OZ
GREAT WALL TO RE-ENTER THE
AUSTRALIAN MARKET WITH A NEW
STEED 4X4 UTE.http://www.4x4australia.com.au 131Following a two-year hiatus,
Great Wall Motors will return
to Oz showrooms this year.WORDS TRISTAN TANCREDI
“The thing that mentally
killed me yesterday was
just how unrelenting it
was. There’s a section in
the second half where
the bumps just go on and
on, one after another, but
today I knew it was going
to get better.”
Navigator Bernie Webb
added: “It was just brutal.
I’ve had some big crashes
in my time and I can
honestly say, hopping out
of the car yesterday, I felt
like I’d had a 130km/h
rollover, it was that bad.”
The satisfaction for
Webb and Hagon and the
whole team was not just
in finishing, and finishing
well – their time was more
than three minutes faster
than the fourth-placed
truck in their category –
but in proving their many,
many doubters wrong.
“That car has stood up
incredibly well,” Hagon
said. “I’ve never seen a
car brutalised in that way,
and to have it still here
and driving is beyond
impressive.”