Great Wall reveals strong results for 2019

Great Wall Motors, China's largest SUV maker, released its financial statement and corporate social responsibility report for 2019 at the end of April, highlighting the automaker's developments and efforts made in technological research, brand strategy and sustainable development.

In 2019, Great Wall achieved a total revenue of 96.21 billion yuan ($13.65 billion) and a net profit of 4.53 billion yuan, with a net profit of 4.5 billion yuan attributable to shareholders of its parent company, according to the automaker's financial statement.

Last year, when China's automobile industry was trapped in a downward spiral, the automaker performed steadily due to its intense investment in research and development, the establishment of its brand systems and undertaking of its corporate social responsibilities on sustainable development.

The R&D expenditure of Great Wall last year totaled 4.25 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.31 percent. Its R&D focused on clean, intelligent and internet-connected vehicles aimed at creating more value-added products for its customers.

Adhering to the safety-first concept and the aim of ensuring safe trips through intelligent technologies, WEY, Great Wall's high-end brand, launched an all-dimensional intelligent safety system called Collie in July 2019, in an attempt to bring an all-round safety guarantee to users.

In terms of clean vehicles, the automaker is committed to reducing emissions both by developing new energy vehicles and improving fuel efficiency.

With some plug-in hybrid vehicle models like the WEY VV7 and the VV7 GT and two electric models－the Ora IQ and the R1－on the market, Great Wall increased its R&D in electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, PHEV and hydrogen models.

Taking advantage of 5G and autonomous driving technologies, the automaker is striving to provide users with the best possible driving experience.

In 2019, Great Wall joined hands with eight strategic partners, including Baidu and Huawei, to develop robots using 5G and artificial intelligent technologies.

The automaker said it has made great strides in building up its own multiple-brand systems and industrial chains.

Haval, the automaker's SUV brand, has sold nearly 6 million models globally, ranking first in sales for SUVs in China for 10 years consecutively.

In 2019, Great Wall SUVs accounted for 9.19 percent of the Chinese SUV market, an increase of 0.14 percentage points compared with 2018.

Its high-end marque WEY, which has an average price of more than 160,000 yuan, has won the favor of more than 330,000 customers, laying a foundation for the brand's overseas aspirations.

Great Wall pickups have reached a global sales volume of over 1.6 million, maintaining the top spot in both domestic sales and exports for 22 years.

In the first quarter of 2020, Great Wall pickups aimed for a market share of nearly 50 percent, according to the automaker.

Its brand Ora, which specializes in electric cars, has entered the first tier of new energy automobile brands. The Ora R1 has the highest growth rate in sales in this segment, according to Great Wall.

With increases in vehicle sales, Great Wall has also seen profit growth in its component and parts businesses as well as overseas markets.

In 2019, Great Wall's revenues from components and parts reached 8.86 billion yuan, an increase of 42.78 percent compared with 2018.

Spotlight Automotive, a joint venture between Great Wall and German auto giant BMW, was initiated in November 2019, marking the automaker as poised to serve customers worldwide.

Statistics show that Great Wall's overseas revenues totaled 5.52 billion yuan in 2019, a year-on-year growth of 66.61 percent.

Looking ahead, the automaker will use its three factories in Russia, India and Thailand as stepping stones to further develop its emerging overseas markets.

The CSR report for Great Wall in 2019 revealed the automaker undertook its social responsibilities from diverse aspects, as a part of its effort to promote sustainable development.

Sticking to the concept of "harmonious coexistence among people, vehicles and the environment", Great Wall increased the proportion of its new energy and fuel-efficient products to nearly 70 percent in 2019.

The amount of waste produced by the automaker decreased by 1.2 percent in the same year, with significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and hazardous waste.

The automaker has also made efforts to improve infrastructure, healthcare and education in some poor areas of China. It has provided 5,925 jobs for people from poor areas nationwide in a bid to shore up the development of local economies.

Great Wall is also building a global employment cultivation system, to reform and promote enterprise management systems and staff incentive mechanisms.

To improve its employees' wellbeing, Great Wall offers them high-quality housing and helps their children with its own education projects.