Great Wall Motors (GWM) is outselling 18 different brands in South Africa, many of whom have been on the market for far longer.
While the Chinese automaker has maintained a presence on our shores since 2007, its popularity has skyrocketed since the late 2010s with the launch of additional sub-brands that have catapulted its sales into the quadruple digits.
Emerging competitors
GWM first appeared in South Africa in 2007 and was initially focused on light commercial vehicles, before it later branched out into the passenger car segment with units like the C20R hatchback.
While these models achieved modest success, it wasn’t until 2017 that GWM really started to take off with the introduction of its first sub-brand – Haval.
Haval has been instrumental to GWM’s success in South Africa, as the new brand’s line of crossovers and SUVs like the Jolion and H6 proved to be a massive hit with frequent appearances in each month’s best-sellers lists.
To put things in perspective, Haval and its parent company sold a total of 14,265 units in 2023, doubling what it managed to achieve just three years earlier.
This meteoric rise in popularity means GWM is now a consistent top 10 best-selling brand in South Africa alongside another Chinese carmaker – Chery.
Naamsa recently published the sales numbers for every major auto brand in the country from October 2024, which is listed below:
- Toyota – 11,891 units
- VW – 6,340 units
- Suzuki – 6,006 units
- Ford – 2,965 units
- Hyundai – 2,913 units
- Isuzu – 2,251 units
- Chery – 1,831 units
- GWM – 1,796 units
- Renault – 1,734 units
- Kia – 1,508 units
- Mahindra – 1,421 units
- Nissan – 1,304 units
- BMW – 1,007 units
- Omoda & Jaecoo – 605 units
- Mercedes-Benz – 474 units
- Stellantis – 402 units
- Mazda – 239 units
- BAIC – 227 units
- Honda – 217 units
- JAC – 193 units
- Mitsubishi – 192 units
- Porsche – 104 units
- Jaguar Land Rover – 82 units
- Subaru – 65 units
- Proton – 54 units
- Volvo – 47 units
As you can see, GWM is outperforming 18 other names in the industry, including several legacy badges like Renault, BMW, Mazda, and Honda.
In fairness, the manufacturer’s sales are spread out across multiple brands, including the aforementioned Haval.
However, GWM also recently launched Ora and Tank in South Africa – which are its electric and 4×4 SUV divisions, respectively.
Great Wall Motors isn’t the only company with multiple contributing brands, though, as VW’s sales include those from Audi, while Lexus’ numbers are counted towards Toyota’s total.
Another example is Stellantis, which actually comprises seven different automakers including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Fiat, Jeep, Opel, and Peugeot.
GWM’s success in South Africa can be attributed to two main factors – variety and price.
As evidenced by its multiple sub-brands, GWM does not specialize in a single type of vehicle, but actually offers a number of options including single and double-cab bakkies, luxury SUVs, affordable crossovers, and hatchbacks.
It’s also one of the only companies to offer an electric or hybrid powertrain across every model in its catalogue, which is ideal for consumers who are increasingly worried about rising fuel prices.
GWM’s price tags are also a big part of its appeal, as motorists are moving away from legacy brands like VW and Mercedes-Benz towards more affordable options from Asia, particularly India and China.
Illustrating this point is the fact that Combined Motor Holdings (CMH) has managed to build a highly-successful dealership network in South Africa because it the primary distributor for Haval, Chery, and Suzuki – all of which are incredibly popular right now.
Furthermore, Standard Bank noted that finance arrangements for Chinese cars have consistently increased since 2022 despite an overall depression in new-car sales.
“Even though Chinese brands currently represent less than 10% of our retail sales, their upward trajectory is remarkable given the challenging market conditions,” said Derick De Vries, Head of Automotive Retail at Standard Bank Vehicle and Asset Finance.
“These brands are clearly gaining significant traction, reflecting the broader global trend where Chinese vehicles are taking more market share, driven by competitive pricing and growing consumer confidence.”
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