Great Wall to focus on mini-car

Chinese SUV and pick-up manufacturer Great Wall Motor will focus on developing and producing smaller cars in order to increase its sales in the domestic market and take advantage of the trend towards smaller cars that is resulting from rising fuel costs, said its chairman at the Beijing auto show, according to a report on Gasgoo.com on April 30. With an annual capacity of about 400,000 vehicles, Great Wall manufactures SUVs and pick-ups as its major products and has decided to raise its production capacity to 500,000 units in the near future. The company has set a goal to lead China’s mini-car market by adding more products to its line-up of six models, a goal that is ambitious in a country already packed with small cars from national and international brands. The first batch of its Hover SUVs was delivered to Italy in 2006 and sales are expected to rise to 5,000 units this year. (May 2, 2008)