[darklord]

Mumbai/New Delhi: Great Wall Motor, China's biggest SUV maker, is in talks to set up a wholly-owned business in India, an Indian industry official said on Monday, in what would be the first Chinese car maker to enter the country alone.

Great Wall, China's eighth-largest car maker, sent a delegation to India last week, and targets starting manufacturing of vehicles in India in 2016, Vishnu Mathur, director general of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), told Reuters in an interview.

http://profit.ndtv.com/news/corporat...a-entry-314532

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by darklord

http://profit.ndtv.com/news/corporat...a-entry-314532

I do not know if the image in that article is supposed to suggest rugged/sporty nature of their SUVs, but there are things that have fallen off that car

I just hope the cars are not typical Chinese build to cost fare.

[ashutoshb]

The picture is from the 2012 Dakar rally, where they finished 7th.

[arup.misra]

With the momentum in SUV sales picking up pace in India, it seems like a good move. More so as they are the largest SUV manufacturer in China and they export to the EU as well Australia. But 2016 might be a tad too late for them, they could look to start off with CKDs build a brand and then maybe localize production.

[motomaverick]

Saw their product lineup, with the kind of power outputs from their SUV I do not think they can survive in the current main SUV market. But they do have a compact SUV Haval M4 which looks great.

[sa_kiran]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Saw their product lineup, with the kind of power outputs from their SUV I do not think they can survive in the current main SUV market. But they do have a compact SUV Haval M4 which looks great.

They can't survive if the buyers watch one of the Top Gear episodes featuring Chinese cars. Though they look good from outside (because they blatantly copy popular models), they are very shoddy. They are below average in all aspects.

[autoweirdo]

I had seen few SUVs of GWM in South Africa where they are termed as poor man's pajero.
The SUV is built to cost since they are nearly 35-40% cheaper than the SUV of bigger brands.

If they are manufacturing in India then only i guess cost will be low since taxation on CKD route is also high and we have Mahindra n TATA to fight out in the low cost suv space.

[speedmiester]

The only way the Chinese companies can make any inroads into the Indian Automobile market is with their pricing. Unless they can sell their products really cheap compared to the competition, they will have a hard time finding buyers.
Unlike other products, the relationship between the manufacturer and the buyer will not end after the point of sale. It begins with it and continues till the buyer sells it.

Also the perception of the average Indian consumer is hard to change, only an informed buyer looks at other market alternatives when it comes to buying a car.

It takes a lot of effort and investment in changing the mindset of Indian consumer. So unless the Chinese companies can invest in building good after sales support and can deliver niggle free cars, it is going to be tough.

[HammerHead]

I'm certainly not a fan of Chinese cars, not even Korean's for that matter but look at what Top Gear has to say about Chinese cars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q33XXQDJnQw

[vinair]

Originally Posted by HammerHead

I'm certainly not a fan of Chinese cars, not even Korean's for that matter but look at what Top Gear has to say about Chinese cars.

http://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=q33XXQDJnQw

Please don't take Top Gear too seriously. It is a great car/bike TV show, no doubt but it is no yard stick measure for manufacturers or models. Everyone knows how the presenters are so very biased towards everything 'british'

May be everyone has something associated with each country and its products, but generalize every manufacturer is total wrong.

[HammerHead]

Originally Posted by vinair

Please don't take Top Gear too seriously. It is a great car/bike TV show, no doubt but it is no yard stick measure for manufacturers or models. Everyone knows how the presenters are so very biased towards everything 'british'

May be everyone has something associated with each country and its products, but generalize every manufacturer is total wrong.

You see the problem is not with Top Gear or any other such shows. It all shows on what you are looking for and what are your expectations from such programs.

In this particular episode Jeremy & James agree to the fact that soon they might be driving a 'Chinese' car looking at the progress these guys have made in last decade or so.

If you look at anyone's view's especially on cars, you will feel biasness

I for one strongly believe that Europeans have made more progress in this field than anyone else. Americans are so so. Japanese have certain strong qualities to go for while Koreans are catching up while next in line are Chinese.

Now back to the main question, Will I buy a Chinese Car? Its a straight NO.
Does that mean I'm biased towards everything 'European'? Not really. I feel European cars satisfy my bare basic requirements which I look for in a car.

And for the same reason guys at Top Gear sounds like they are biased towards 'British' or European cars which I personally don't feel they are.

[Vishal.R]

From Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wall_Motors)

Being exported to around 8-10 countries as CKD.
Assembly unit in Bulgaria for Europe.
One of their models (A-Segment hatch) is a direct copy of Fiat Panda.
There are a few other allegations of copy also.
An Australian importer recalled Chinese-made cars of several brands including Great Wall due to discoveries of asbestos in gaskets.

Also available in Australia as an import.

From an Australian review (http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor...810-23xtz.html)

Pros:
Mitsubishi engines.
Good external looks.
Lower entry price.

Cons:
Unsorted dynamics
Lots and lots of niggles.
Very low re-sale price.

Personally I don’t see any advantage over Indian UVs, unless introduced at very cheaper price.

[volkman10]

Great Wall Motor Company, China’s eighth largest carmaker wants to open a plant in India. A company delegation was recently in India meet government, SIAM and potential suppliers.
The company is targeting 2016 to start manufacturing in India.

http://www.autocarindia.com/News/327...dia-entry.aspx

[harishpr]

I'm a sort of person who would welcome quality irrespective of which nation it comes from.
As we know, Japanese car makers were underdogs few decades ago, and today they are the leaders. Same holds good with Korean car makers. I'm sure it's a matter of time before Chinese hits the sweet spot. I always advice, lets not write off a product so very early even before realizing its potential.
China has everything it needs to make it big in auto world soon.

[suhaas307]

One of the reasons why the Chevrolet Sail U-VA hasn't done too well is *probably* due to the stigma of it being a 'Chinese' car attached to it.

I'd noticed on several social-networking sites and I've even heard it from some in person, that it isn't a great car because it is 'Chinese'. There was even a picture of it (in taxi-guise) with its front-bumper completely caved after an incident with a bicycle that seemed to have sustained damage massively disproportionate (read: much less) to the Chevy's huge dent.

If the stigma is indeed true and people are in fact stereotyping it as a 'Chinese' car despite it being a Chevy (with 'Opel' underpinnings) and a decent one at that, then God help Great Wall Motors.