China's Great Wall Motors, maker of the country's top-selling sport utility vehicle, is set to launch a new "high-end" brand this coming week. The Chinese automaker has decided to shake the market with cheap cars.
The WEY brand will be launched on Nov. 16 ahead of the Guangzhou motor show, which is China's second most prominent auto exhibition of the year, the company declares in an exchange filing on Thursday.
The brand name appears to be a nod to Great Wall Chairman, Wei Jianjun.
Great Wall was an early mover in China's craze for SUVs with its H6 model topping sales charts in 2014. But this far the brand has not been able to command the higher prices of foreign marques.
"To gain the next level of pricing, they may need to create another brand," said James Chao, Asia-Pacific chief of IHS Markit Automotive.
"Product is very important but equally important is a brand that people start to recognize as being equal to global brands in value and prestige."
A Great Wall spokesman declined to elaborate on the brand in advance, but we are sure this will be something amazing!
This new auto company follows on Chinese rival launching the Lynk & Co brand last month that seeks to compete globally with mainstream foreign brands like General Motors and Volkswagen.
