AUTONEWS

Chinese automotive giant GWM closes its doors in Europe

Even those who don't follow the world of cars know: there is no shortage of Chinese brands looking to invade any automotive market available in the world. However, there is a lack of places for all the manufacturers... and naturally someone has to lose in this war.

In many cases, Western brands get the worst of it. But now it was GWM who felt the weight of playing away from home, having to drastically reduce their expansion plans in Europe. According to German publication Manager Magazin, Great Wall Motors will completely close its European headquarters, located in Munich.

The office will return in August and all approximately 100 employees working there would have already received layoff notice. The headquarters commanded sales, logistics and Research & Development operations tailored to consumers in European countries. Opened in 2021, the office should have 300 employees the following year, but the reduced number of staff is another indication that GWM's performance was never as expected in the region.

Troublesome invasion...Despite the differences, Brazil and Europe have been approached in similar ways by Chinese brands. In both markets, GWM adapted its marketing strategy and condensed its sub-brands under one name; here, Haval and ORA became models, while there, the same happened with ORA and WEY, which will be launched in our market.

According to sources from Manager Magazin, the Germans and Chinese disagreed from the beginning regarding strategies, and poor sales only made matters worse. In 2023, GWM sold 316,018 units outside of China, with the European market only accounting for a measly 2% of that. There were 6,300 registrations in Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden and Israel (the Jewish country is served by the Munich branch).

From now on, the order is to take your foot off the accelerator. The launches of Ora 03 and WEY 05 and WEY 05 were already about to take place in Austria and Switzerland, with sales managers hired and strategies ready, but everything was cancelled. Expansion plans for Spain, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Denmark, Iceland and Bulgaria, still in 2024, will also no longer occur.

With the chill in plans, even the head of GWM in Europe, the former Kia Steffen Cost, was fired. Sales on the continent will continue in the markets where they already exist, in order to honor the commitments made.Sales on the continent will continue in the markets where they already exist, in order to honor the commitments made.Furthermore, one of the sales representatives, the Emil Frey group, will be in charge of the activities. But reporting directly to Baoding Chinese headquarters from now on.

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