Haval China journey - part 4

By Lawrence Minnie

GWM and Haval are one of the largest auto manufacturers in China and they set out to prove that they are the best by inviting a group of global journalists on a cross country tour with the brand. Shanghai was next on the list and it did not disappoint.

Please read parts one, two and three for the full story

Day 5

The Auto Shanghai show is the biggest of its kind on the Asian continent, to put that into perspective the Shanghai international convention centre is a sprawling complex of buildings shaped like a giant cloverleaf.

If you were to take FNB Stadium, Moses Mabida Stadium, Cape Town Stadium and Nelson Mandel Bay Stadium and arrange them into a cloverleaf shape you will get roughly the size of the Shanghai Centre, to say that it is massive is an understatement.

These multiple buildings held the world’s auto manufacturers as well as representation of the Chinese Domestic market and many of its suppliers.

This is a global show where many concepts and production cars were unveiled by multiple manufacturers.

Our final day allowed us a day of wandering around the show and taking in the sights, sounds and the sea of humanity followed by a global GWM Haval dealer banquet that night.

Highlights

The highlights of the show for me were a number of vehicles slated for release locally, vehicles such as the Volkswagen T- Roc and T-Cross, Jeep Gladiator and Nissan Sylphy, which could be a pre-cursor to the new Sentra.

I was rather taken with many of the stunningly beautiful concepts and of course the GWM and Haval unveilings.

The true eye candy though came in the form of luxury vehicles and hyper cars such as the Porsche E-Hybrid, Acura NSX, Aston Martin, Bently as well as local manufacturers Arc Fox and Iconiq.

The focus on alternative energy drive trains was very apparent with almost all manufacturers having some sort of hybrid or electric car on display or focusing on the future with their concepts.

Global super power

Our last night saw us attending a dealer banquet with representatives of Haval and GWM dealers from all over the world. There were dealers from everywhere, Russia, Ukraine, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Iraq and a host of other countries.

After a presentation from Madam Wong, the chairlady of GWM/ Haval, each country in attendance had an opportunity to showcase their successes in their local market and this was an eye-opening moment.

GWM/Haval is aiming for global representation and they are almost there with only one country with no dealer representation, the USA.

They are indeed poised to take the fight to the likes of Ford, Toyota and VW on a global scale, with good quality products at an affordable price with high levels of customer satisfaction.

Conclusion

It is simply this, ignore the East at your own peril. The days of cheap and nasty Chinese products are passing and the quality and support are getting better day by day.

GWM and Haval have broken into and have made astronomical success in every market they have entered into. South Africa has seen an increase of over 800% this past year and if that isn’t an indicator of things to come then I don’t know.

Longtime market dominators should be keeping an eye on this global brand and be prepared for the shift once consumers realise the benefits of owning one these vehicles.

ENDS