TWO of China’s biggest privately-run Chinese automotive brands, Jetour, which is an affiliate of the Chery brand and Great Wall Motors, launched almost simultaneously before the weekend.
Great Wall Motor (GWM) is one of the most experienced of the Chinese automobile brands producing mainly sport utility vehicles and pick-up trucks, but also has a strong but limited two and three box models. It has become well known for its commercial vehicles because of its participation at the Dakar Rally from 2010 until 2014, first among Chinese car makers.
It also separates its line up by sub-brands; GWM (the mother brand used for commercial vehicles too), Haval (entirely SUVs in every segment), Wey (a luxury-only sub brand named after Jack Wey, GWM founder), Tank (a specialized high-end, off-road offering), and Ora (a dedicated EV brand).
In the Philippines, GWM brand was reintroduced to the Philippines for the third time–under Luxuriant Automobile Group Inc. (LAGI) bringing in Cannon pickup and the Haval H6 and Jolion.
Jetour is a young brand established only in 2018. It emanates from the manufacturing hubs of Chery Motor’s massive factories in Wuhan. The brand gets its DNA from Chery’s 23 years or so of manufacturing experience and expertise. The brand developed specifically to separate Chery’s ubiquitous designs and create a younger, more dynamic brand.
Chery Holdings is China’s most successful car builder, maker and exporter. In its headquarters is Asia’s largest auto tech test center, and Chery’s design team and sub-brands (Karry, Riich, Rely, and now Jetour) employ over 5,500 R&D engineers all over the world. Jetour was established only in 2018, and benefits from powertrain and chassis and technology sharing. Designs, brand positioning and marketing are however, totally separate and distinct.
In the Philippines Jetour is distributed by a new company Jetour Auto Philippines, Inc. (JAPI), led by young auto executives.
While Jetour penned its presence in the Philippines, Great Wall conducted a test drive of its vehicles in a road course for the Haval H6 and Haval Jolion compact and subcompact SUV respectively, while an tight and tough off-road course to test the Cannon pick-ups.
GREAT WALL VEHICLES BRING NEW ENERGY, DRIVING TECH
Great Wall Motors, is distributed in the Philippines by Luxuriant Automotive Group, a new company manned by industry experts eager to introduce intelligent, green & sustainable mobility experiences with advanced products & leading technologies, to the country’s auto industry.
The company launched its vehicles at the Bellevue Hotel in Alabang, but the day was focused on the test drive activity which happened at the Batangas Racing Circuit in the afternoon of the same day. At the test drive, the full line up of vehicles were tested by over 60 motoring journalists and content creators.
“Today, joining hands with Luxuriant, our strategic partner in Philippines market, GWM brings four outstanding products to this market, including our Haval H6 & Haval Jolion developed with GWM Intelligent Modular Architecture. In the future, GWM will continue to deepen our partnership with Luxuriant,” Elliott Zhang, GWM ASEAN President told the media guests.
Introduced on stage were the GWM shared the H6 and Jolion, which are marketed under the Great Wall brand ‘Haval.’ The SUVs are true hybrids capable of producing exceptional performance while enhancing fuel efficiency. Both vehicles share a highly-advanced platform independently developed by GWM from a global perspective. It is a lightweight platform with high safety rating and features perfect integration with new energy powertrains.
These two SUVs aim to provide a solution for both urban driving and long distance driving, through the combination of high-efficiency hybrid engine and dual motor hybrid connection. The technology also allows for four driving modes—EV, series, parallel, and regeneration—each having their own fuel consumption and driving profiles or capabilities.
“I welcome you all to experience the innovation and tech leadership of Great Wall Motor, as embodied by the vehicles in the GWM lineup for the Philippines. Our market has never been more exciting, and we would like to contribute our share, especially in the area of green energy, towards sustainable driving at real world prices,” Tonette Lee, Marketing and Sales Director for Luxuriant Automotive Group said.
GWM and Luxuriant Automotive Group executives led the media to a test drive event at the Batangas Racing Circuit where media guests had the opportunity to drive the vehicles, highlighting specific capabilities, and unique features.
Also at the test drive venue, the Great Wall team surprised the media by introducing a third vehicle, the massive yet nimble GWM Cannon, a pick-up with excellent off road capabilities and surprisingly comfortable on road manners. The Cannon is not part of the actual launch event and will be available later this year. The first Great Wall Motors dealership is being set up in UN Avenue and is scheduled to open in the second week of April.
JETOUR BRINGS IN DYNAMIC,YOUTHFUL VEHICLES
Jetour will be exclusively distributed by Jetour Auto Philippines, Inc. (JAPI), and its four-car line-up includes a handsome, futuristic-looking crossover and what will be the country’s most affordable electric vehicle.
The Jetour X70 is a seven-seater crossover will have three variants, the entry level Journey (P1.099M), the Tour (P1.259M), and the Sport (P1.299M). The more premium Jetour X70 Plus is priced at P1.499M.
It also introduced the young and dynamic, appropriately named ‘Dashing’ crossover. Though cheaper than the X70 Plus at P1.329M it is considered Jetour’s flagship vehicle, featuring advanced technologies apart from the futuristic design.
But it seems that taking the thunder away from the Dashing is the Ice Cream–a three-door, fully electric hatchback priced at P699K, effectively making it the most affordable pure-electric vehicle in the country.
“With our joint efforts, I believe the Jetour brand will grow very quickly and achieve great success in the Philippines,” Jicai Chen, Jetour Auto International General Manager told the media.
“We are truly excited to join forces with a reputable and successful automotive group,” joined Jetour Auto Philippines Managing Director Miguelito Jose. “We are committed to working together to provide our customers with the best possible experience, from sales to after-sales.”
