Why is China’s Great Wall Motor Shutting Down its Europe Headquarters?
Great Wall Motor (GWM), the Chinese automobile manufacturer, announced last week that it would be shutting down its European headquarters in Munich, Germany in an “adjustment” of its market approach in the continent.
“GWM will cease operations of Great Wall Motor Deutschland GmbH (GWMD), its European headquarter in Germany as of August 2024,” the company said in its official statement. “At the same time, we will relocate GWM’s European parts warehouse from Nuremberg, Germany to Amsterdam, Netherlands, doubling the warehouse's size to provide the best service to our customers in the European region.”
Reports said that, with the closure of the European headquarters, all 100 of its employees will be laid off, including the management team.
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Regional business news outlet Nikkei Asia said the shutdown comes after disappointing sales of the company’s electric vehicles in the region.
GWM will also not pursue plans to expand to Austria and Switzerland as was originally announced and will instead serve its existing markets in Europe—including Germany, the United Kingdom, and Ireland—from its base in China.
“Great Wall Motors Group highly values the business autonomy of its existing dealer partners,” GWM said in its statement. “We will collaborate with our current partners to continue sales and service operations in Europe, consistently providing European customers with products that offer exceptional value and experiences.”
GWM had earlier said it would expand throughout Europe and was considering building a manufacturing plant there. It said it was targeting to sell one million cars overseas by 2025 but pushed that target back to 2030.
According to the Nikkei Asia report, GWM sold a total of 247 cars in April in Germany. For comparison, Hyundai sold 8,106 units, while Toyota sold 7,504. The figures are based on that country’s Federal Motor Transport Authority.
In Europe, GWM’s EVs and plug-in hybrids are sold under the brand names Ora and Wey. It’s Ora 03 is sold for about 40,000 euros (about P2.5 million).
In the Philippines, GWM also has a presence, selling cars under Haval and GWM. The RP for its subcompact Haval Jolion is P1.588 million, while its GWM Cannon pick-up truck is at P1.148 million.
