Great Wall Motor Company, China's leading manufacturer of SUVs, launched a new premium brand this week called 'Wey' in an effort to lift its share of the domestic high end vehicle market.
The brand name is derived from Great Wall's chairman, Jack Wey, and will target primarily the domestic market for premium SUVs priced between CNY150,000-200,000 (US$23,000-30,000).
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Wey told local reporters this is a segment in which foreign brands have a strong presence in China. It is my company's "mission to end the age of international brands profiteering from this segment in China", he added.
The company, which is headquartered in Baoding in China's Hebei province, unveiled two pre-production Wey SUV models, the W01 and W02, at a press conference held in Guangzhou.
Very little detail was released on these models other than that they will have premium features such as automatic braking, intelligent stop-start, semi-automatic parking and hands-free tailgate opening.
The Wey division's chief executive officer Jens Steingraeber, a 30-year veteran of VW's Audi, said Great Wall has spent CNY10bn on R&D for Wey products over the last four years.
