Great Wall desire
June 30, 2009
Hear that rumbling? It's the sound of change in the light utility market.
As expected, an aggressive campaign to insert the first Chinese-made vehicles into the New Zealand market has begun with a price revolution.
Ateco Automotive New Zealand had vowed an aggressive strategy for the Great Wall Motors models.
While sub-$20,000 launch price vowed by the Auckland franchise-holder has not transpired, the pair of dual cab four-cylinder petrol utes have pitched into the Hilux sector with a significant advantage.
The Sailor and Wingle - which, unsurprisingly, are being marketed under their alternate alfa-numeric names, respectively SA220 and V240 - might turn back the clock for technology, but the pricing is also from last century.
The rear-drive SA220 will retail for $21,990 while the VA240 retails at $26,990 and $29,990 in rear and four-wheel-drive form respectively. All are manual.
The cheapest version of New Zealand's favourite ute, the Hilux, is the 2.7-litre petrol single cab rear-drive, which retails for $32,990. The cheapest four-wheel-drive Hilux, also a single cab but with a 3.0-litre turbodiesel, commands a recommended retail of $48,250.
The dealer network is still being established, but from launch day tomorrow there will be six outlets - two in Auckland (Manukau and North Shore), and others in Hamilton, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin.
The SA220 is powered by a 2.2-litre four-cylinder petrol engine generating 78kW and 190Nm of torque. With a larger 2.4-litre four-pot petrol engine, the V240 ute outputs 100kW and 200Nm.
The SA220 uses a claimed 10.8 litres of petrol per 100km traveled in Australian Design Rules consumption tests, while the V240 burns slightly less fuel: 10.7L/100km.
Ateco says both vehicles offer buyers "superior equipment levels" at a "second-hand price".
Having not seen the vehicles' firsthand, we can't ascertain if cheap means cruddy. One reassurance is that they will be supported by a three-year/100,000-kilometre warranty with roadside assistance.
Standard equipment looks comprehensive. Electric windows, leather trimmed seats, alloy wheels - 15-inchers on the SA220, 16s for the V240 - and air conditioning come with the Chinese takeaways.
Both utes feature independent front and leaf sprung live rear suspension. Deceleration is handled by front disc brakes and rear drum brakes. There are no crash test results because utes are exempt from this exercise.
Payload for the SA220 is 855kg and the V240 is 1000kg, while towing capacities are rated at 750kg for an unbraked trailer and 1800kg and 2350kg for the SA220 and V240 models respectively.
The venture with Great Wall Motor is China's largest privately-owned car maker, is a big move for Ateco.
Until now it has been best known as the distributor of European prestige brands such as Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Citroen and Fiat. Ateco is run by Neville Crichton, a New Zealander who now lives in Australia.
More vehicles will follow. A single cab utility, a sports utility and a small car are expected to be here by year-end.
China recently became the world's largest auto market because of plunging US car sales. Some analysts are predicting that the Chinese market will this year exceed 10 million vehicle sales.
Great Wall Motors already exports to about 60 countries in Asia, Europe and South America, and is planning to open production facilities in Russia as well as China.
Other Chinese manufacturers thought to have an interest in New Zealand are Lifan and Chery Automotive. Ateco has distribution rights to both.
The first Chery cars will be here before the end of the year, Yahoo!Xtra has been told. Chery expects to expand its range with 38 new models over the next five years. It's short-term aim is to produce one million cars annually.
Another on the horizon is Brilliance, which has already failed to make impact in Europe, having suffering the embarrassment of the first car it sought to sell there receiving the worst score ever recorded in an independent crash test.
Great Wall Motor Company Limited is located in the industrial city of Baoding which is in the Hebei province of North East China, 140km south of Beijing. The company was founded in 1976 and was the first Chinese automotive manufacturer to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
What this means to you:
Remember, cheap 'n cheerful is how the Japanese and Koreans started, too.
As expected, an aggressive campaign to insert the first Chinese-made vehicles into the New Zealand market has begun with a price revolution.
Ateco Automotive New Zealand had vowed an aggressive strategy for the Great Wall Motors models.
While sub-$20,000 launch price vowed by the Auckland franchise-holder has not transpired, the pair of dual cab four-cylinder petrol utes have pitched into the Hilux sector with a significant advantage.
The Sailor and Wingle - which, unsurprisingly, are being marketed under their alternate alfa-numeric names, respectively SA220 and V240 - might turn back the clock for technology, but the pricing is also from last century.
The rear-drive SA220 will retail for $21,990 while the VA240 retails at $26,990 and $29,990 in rear and four-wheel-drive form respectively. All are manual.
The cheapest version of New Zealand's favourite ute, the Hilux, is the 2.7-litre petrol single cab rear-drive, which retails for $32,990. The cheapest four-wheel-drive Hilux, also a single cab but with a 3.0-litre turbodiesel, commands a recommended retail of $48,250.
The dealer network is still being established, but from launch day tomorrow there will be six outlets - two in Auckland (Manukau and North Shore), and others in Hamilton, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin.
The SA220 is powered by a 2.2-litre four-cylinder petrol engine generating 78kW and 190Nm of torque. With a larger 2.4-litre four-pot petrol engine, the V240 ute outputs 100kW and 200Nm.
The SA220 uses a claimed 10.8 litres of petrol per 100km traveled in Australian Design Rules consumption tests, while the V240 burns slightly less fuel: 10.7L/100km.
Ateco says both vehicles offer buyers "superior equipment levels" at a "second-hand price".
Having not seen the vehicles' firsthand, we can't ascertain if cheap means cruddy. One reassurance is that they will be supported by a three-year/100,000-kilometre warranty with roadside assistance.
Standard equipment looks comprehensive. Electric windows, leather trimmed seats, alloy wheels - 15-inchers on the SA220, 16s for the V240 - and air conditioning come with the Chinese takeaways.
Both utes feature independent front and leaf sprung live rear suspension. Deceleration is handled by front disc brakes and rear drum brakes. There are no crash test results because utes are exempt from this exercise.
Payload for the SA220 is 855kg and the V240 is 1000kg, while towing capacities are rated at 750kg for an unbraked trailer and 1800kg and 2350kg for the SA220 and V240 models respectively.
The venture with Great Wall Motor is China's largest privately-owned car maker, is a big move for Ateco.
Until now it has been best known as the distributor of European prestige brands such as Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Citroen and Fiat. Ateco is run by Neville Crichton, a New Zealander who now lives in Australia.
More vehicles will follow. A single cab utility, a sports utility and a small car are expected to be here by year-end.
China recently became the world's largest auto market because of plunging US car sales. Some analysts are predicting that the Chinese market will this year exceed 10 million vehicle sales.
Great Wall Motors already exports to about 60 countries in Asia, Europe and South America, and is planning to open production facilities in Russia as well as China.
Other Chinese manufacturers thought to have an interest in New Zealand are Lifan and Chery Automotive. Ateco has distribution rights to both.
The first Chery cars will be here before the end of the year, Yahoo!Xtra has been told. Chery expects to expand its range with 38 new models over the next five years. It's short-term aim is to produce one million cars annually.
Another on the horizon is Brilliance, which has already failed to make impact in Europe, having suffering the embarrassment of the first car it sought to sell there receiving the worst score ever recorded in an independent crash test.
Great Wall Motor Company Limited is located in the industrial city of Baoding which is in the Hebei province of North East China, 140km south of Beijing. The company was founded in 1976 and was the first Chinese automotive manufacturer to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
What this means to you:
Remember, cheap 'n cheerful is how the Japanese and Koreans started, too.
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