From Deer Pickup to Tank Car, Great Wall Motors is 36 Years Old

Recently, Wei Jianjun posted a message wishing Great Wall Motors a happy 36th birthday.

Why is it 36 years?

In the impression of some veteran drivers, Great Wall Motors' "age" should seem larger, it should have been born in the 1980s; let's talk about this topic first. The establishment time of Great Wall Motor Manufacturing Factory was 1984, which is indeed not bad, some veteran drivers did not remember wrong. However, 1990 was the first year Wei Jianjun served as General Manager of Great Wall Auto Industry Co., Ltd., and before Wei Jianjun took office, the company's core business was engaged in vehicle modification. By 1989, the company fell into loss due to poor management, later the Nandayuan Township Government offered preferential conditions to attract contracting. On July 1 of the next year, Wei Jianjun took over as General Manager of Great Wall Motors, and started producing Great Wall brand light trucks from 1991, and achieved continuous growth in product sales.

So 1990 counts as the real starting point of Great Wall Motors, today it is exactly 36 years.

Great Wall Motors truly entered the vision of mainstream car market users starting from 1995; Wei Jianjun visited Thailand in 1996, found pickup trucks everywhere, after analyzing the domestic pickup truck market demand, Wei Jianjun decided to build this model; By March 5, 1996, the first Great Wall Deer pickup came off the line; and Great Wall Motors achieved pickup product exports to the Middle East the following year, officially launching the curtain of Chinese car exports

In 1998, Great Wall pickup ranked number one in domestic pickup sales.

In 1999, Wei Jianjun obtained 21% shares held by the local government, Great Wall Motor Group thus realized privatization from collective ownership.

Another turning point was within 2000, during which regulations banning pickup trucks from entering the city appeared; Great Wall Motors went through a period of testing, but by 2002 built the Safe SUV, pioneering the domestic economy SUV. Although this car was imitating Toyota Hilux Surf, that is the US version Toyota 4Runner, it was still very popular at that time.

Later, Great Wall Motors successively built a series of passenger car products, such as Great Wall H3, H5, M1, M2, C30, C50, Jiayu MPV, Cool Bear, etc.; After establishing the Haval brand, the classic Haval H6 was born; further on, the Wey brand, Ora, and Tank sub-brands were successively built, from Deer Pickup to Tank Car, Great Wall Motors used 36 years to complete the transformation, from reverse development products to independent R&D.

Among Great Wall Motors' series of sub-brands and products, which car is the most attractive?

This question has no standard answer, it can only be said opinions vary; I prefer off-road vehicles, started following Great Wall Motors from the Safe era, subsequently followed Fengjun series pickups, Great Wall H3, etc. Currently most concerned with the new Haval H5 off-road vehicle, the vehicle's body size meets usage needs, appearance design also has significant upgrade potential; but only for its power plan there are some dissatisfactions, currently it provides 2.0T gasoline version and 2.0T diesel version options, both use 8AT transmissions.

Gasoline version has sufficient power, but a gasoline-powered large off-road vehicle inevitably has higher fuel consumption.

Diesel version power is slightly weak, the 122kW maximum torque corresponding straight-line acceleration capability is a bit regrettable.

So still expect this car to launch a hybrid version, just considering realistic problems, that is if Haval H5 uses Hi4-T or Hi4-Z plug-in hybrid system, it will inevitably affect the sales of Tank brand's Tank 300/400/500 Hi4-T or Hi4-Z off-road vehicles. Then suggesting to use this hybrid system makes no sense, but is it possible to consider adopting a diesel hybrid system?

Compared with gasoline engines, diesel engines perform poorer in terms of noise, vibration, and harshness, mid-to-high-end cars are more suitable for gasoline engines, this is undisputed. Tank brand are all using gasoline engine plug-in hybrid systems. Then giving product positioning slightly lower Haval H5 diesel plug-in hybrid system can avoid competitive relationship with Tank brand off-road vehicles, if there is still potential competitive relationship, perhaps consider using Hi2 architecture hybrid system for Haval H5.

That is using diesel engine and motor, using small capacity power battery pack, not designed as plug-in hybrid.

The vehicle can retain a 5~10kWh power battery pack, charging relies entirely on generating power during driving and kinetic energy recovery; the battery pack is used for auxiliary drive, power enhancement, and parking power usage. Vehicle equipped with drive motor with maximum power around 100~150kW, still use 2.0T diesel engine, system combined maximum power achieved above 200kW, combined maximum torque above 500N·m, believe such Haval H5 will be very popular, will become ideal choice for off-road enthusiasts, major rescue organizations, outdoor sports clubs and field work units, will be an excellent tool vehicle, will also be a modern off-road vehicle with a strong presence.

Above is just personal opinion, as an automotive manufacturer with long-term attention, no matter what still wish Great Wall Motors a happy birthday.