Great Wall still failing to catch up with competitors in the Chinese passenger automobile market

Great Wall's falling far behind its rivals in the Chinese automobile market. According to a report appearing in the Investment Times today, Great Wall invested less than three percent of its total revenues into research and development last year. By comparison, BYD invested 5.43 percent of its revenues, while Chery invested over ten percent of its revenues.

After reaching a peak value of 52.85 RMB ($8.63) last October, the price of Great Wall's stock has been decreasing consistently. The gradual fall has been attributed to the delay of its new SUV, the Haval H8. Following an announcement made in May that it would be delaying the new model yet again, the manufacturer's stock price took yet another hit. Matters weren't helped by the 15.67 percent decrease in the manufacturer's sales volume in March. As of June 26, Great Wall's per stock price was 25.56 RMB ($4.156), over 50 percent less than its peak value last October.

When asked to comment on these topics, Great Wall is remaining relatively tight-lipped, refusing to offer comments. Automotive Analyst Jin Lei offered his perspective: "In an age when products rule, R&D capability and investment are key to a manufacturer's survival. Great Wall's repeated product delays and constant low rates of investment has led to poor product competitiveness."

According to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, passenger automobile sales achieved year-on-year growth of nine percent April. Despite being lower than figures from the previous month, the growth rate was still respectable.

A Great Wall dealership offered some insight into the manufacturer's performance during that time period: "Currently our new car sales are primarily dependent on the H6. However, the H6's sales have not been ideal. The key subcompact contender, the C50, still does not have an automatic version, which has led many potential consumers to find other choices. It's already been three years, is it really this difficult to release an automatic version?"

According to recently released statistics, 47,800 Haval SUVs were sold in April, 6.8 percent less than the amount sold in the previous month. Combined sales of manufacturer's five sedans reached an all-time low during that month, with only 16,200 units sold. The key C30 made up just 5,000 of those sales; by comparison, at its peak 25,000 C30s were sold in a single month.

Automotive Industry Analyst Liu Qing commented on the model's performance: "The C30 was manufactured in 2010. The model has barely changed over the last four years. By comparison, several domestically manufactured vehicles are redesigned every other year and come out with a new generation every other five years. When it comes to price, Great Wall has been uncompromising. Facing key competitors who are slashing prices by 20 percent, the C30 is definitely lacking."

Mr. Lei also chimed in, remaking that "Great Wall's product updates have always been very slow." He added that the C50 was not the only outdated product, as the M4, C20R and most of Great Wall's pickup trucks still only offer manual transmissions in a market where an automatic transmission option is needed to remain competitive.