Great Wall Motors in August: New Cars Launch in Batches, Then What?

Great Wall Motors in August, the first impression given is not how many vehicles were sold, but how many models were launched.

H10, H9 Force Soul Edition, WEY V8X, Ora 5GT, Ora 5 Sports Edition, Commercial Pao Hi4-T Pilot Edition, Passenger Pao Hi4-T Black Warrior Edition... Roughly counting, the number of new cars that completed launches or opened pre-orders within a single month is close to ten, with prices ranging from just over 70,000 to over 220,000. This launch density is not common among domestic brands.

The final sales figure is 113,396 vehicles, representing a month-on-month growth of 4.93%. Considering the overall car market environment, this performance can be considered steady, but it is hardly stunning.

Overseas sales grew year-on-year by 38.42%, which is the most eye-catching figure across all dimensions. Great Wall Pickups sold 12,288 units in August, of which 6,518 units were overseas, accounting for over half. This detail illustrates the point well: Great Wall's overseas expansion is no longer about "shipping cars that don't sell well domestically", but has formed independent demand support in some categories. At the Indonesia Auto Show, the Ora 5 made its debut, the Tank diesel version appeared, the Ora 5 landed in Chile, test drives were conducted in Pakistan, and the 250,000th owner was delivered in Australia—all within one month across four continents. This pace is no longer the same as "export trade" from a few years ago.

However, on the other side of the high overseas growth, the domestic market growth rate is not fast. January to August cumulative year-on-year growth is 1.98%. Against the background of domestic brands generally achieving double-digit growth this year, this number appears somewhat conservative. Haval, as the foundation, saw a month-on-month growth of 15.44% to 64,960 vehicles in August, largely thanks to H10 delivering 10,178 units in its first month of launch.

New energy vehicles saw a year-on-year growth of 8.55% in August. This growth rate is considered average in the industry. Great Wall's new energy route has always been quite special—it did not go all-in on pure electric, but instead focused on Hi4 hybrid technology, integrating hybrids into traditional fuel advantage categories like off-road vehicles and pickups. The Tank 400 New Energy took the top spot for one-year resale value among PHEV models, the Tank 500 New Energy took the top spot for three-year resale value, and the WEY Gaoshan took the cumulative sales champion for domestic new energy MPVs from January to July. Champions in these niche fields indicate that Great Wall has indeed found its position at the intersection of "Off-road + New Energy" and "MPV + New Energy".

Ora is another variable. August year-on-year growth was 110.95% to 11,018 vehicles, making it the fastest-growing among all brands. The Ora 5 series received significant attention at the Chengdu Auto Show, with the 5GT and Sports Edition subsequently launching, with starting prices pushed down to 89,800 and 71,800 respectively. This price band means Ora is re-entering the entry-level new energy market, which is exactly the interval where price wars are fiercest this year.

At the Chengdu Auto Show, Great Wall's six major brands appeared together, and they even held a user event called "Great Wall and Sichuan People as One Family". This saying of "from transaction to heart-to-heart" has been spoken by almost every domestic brand in the past two years. User operation is certainly important, but in the face of increasing product homogenization, what truly retains users is still the competitiveness of the products themselves and the after-sales experience.

Great Wall Motors' current situation can be summarized in one sentence: Overseas is accelerating, new energy is finding its path, domestic is defending the market, and products are being launched intensively. 17 million cumulative sales represent historical heritage, but historical heritage cannot directly convert into current market share. The wave of new cars in August is more like a concentrated effort—pushing reserved products onto the market at once, exchanging launch density for buzz and sales.

The next few months will be the true test. After the new car hype fades, whether H10 can stabilize monthly sales over 10,000, whether V8X can tear open a gap in the market over 200,000, whether the Ora 5 series can survive in the red ocean of 70,000 to 90,000, whether the overseas 38% growth rate can be maintained—the answers to these questions are more important than August's sales performance report.

Great Wall lacks no products, nor lacks technology reserves. What is lacking is, in a market raced to the extreme, the ability to truly convert product power into sustained growth.