Great Wall Motors is already popular in ASEAN so it looks like we are next on the list.
By now, at least a few Malaysians will already be familiar with Great Wall Motor, or GWM for short but for those unfamiliar, GWM is a privately owned Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer and owns several other brands such as Haval, Tank and ORA. They are also currently the eight largest automaker in China.
While the Great Wall Motors brand has had some presence in the ASEAN market, they have never been particularly successful in Malaysia thus far, in fact, as far as I know, all Great Wall cars sold in Malaysia up to this point have been branded “Great Wall Haval” cars and they are all typically Haval cars like the Haval H1 and Haval M4.
Well that’s about to change real soon as GWM is well aware that the stigma around Chinese cars and Chinese brand EVs is no longer being perpetuated and as such are setting their sights on Malaysia as their next stop in the brand’s expansion into ASEAN after Thailand.
The main goal for Great Wall Motors is to establish a presence in the ASEAN market and we are excited for this as now Malaysians will have more choices for EVs and with many Chinese carmakers selling amazing EVs at lower prices, we may finally be getting some affordable EVs for the Malaysian middle class.
Moreover, as previously mentioned, Chinese brands are becoming more and more popular worldwide but Malaysia has been a bit behind, GWM is hoping to change that and give us access to the same modern EVs the rest of the world has that we have been lacking thus far.
On top of that, with Malaysia EV tax schemes, brands like GWM are encouraged to set up shop here as it means more customers who want to buy EVs at lower tax points compared to regular petrol engine cars. If GWM becomes a major seller, Malaysia may be able to achieve carbon neutrality sooner than expected too.
Additionally, there are whispers of a targeted fuel subsidy in the works to replace the current blanket subsidy in the country so this may lead to higher demand for EVs in the country and GWM coming here now means that this may just be a win-win situation for everyone including us, the citizens.
GWM also feels that now is the best time for them to introduce their EVs in Malaysia to fully leverage their ASEAN expansion plans as Malaysia is a big factor for success in ASEAN so if we take well to EVs, all of ASEAN will too. So less pollution and cheaper but more technologically advanced cars for us. I’d say that’s a great deal.
With GWM being introduced in Malaysia, the automotive landscape is about to change drastically and I am excited to see what the future holds for GWM in Malaysia. Are you?
