Great Wall the first Chinese marque on sale in UK

Great Wall Motor Company reports that it has become the first Chinese marque to get its cars on sale in UK. The first from the firm to land on these shores is the Steed pick-up on sale now, priced from £13,998 (CVOTR) and it comes with 16-inch alloy wheels as standard. Earlier this year another Chinese OEM, Geely, announced its plans to market vehicles in the UK.

According to the company, the 2.0-litre turbo diesel offers class-leading fuel economy and will be on show at the Commercial Vehicle Show next week (24-26 April). The vehicle will be on sale through a newly-appointed nationwide network of 40 Great Wall dealers. 

The new Steed promises to be the most affordable pick-up in the UK – both to buy and to run. Prices start at just £13,998 (CVOTR) for the Steed S model, and the vehicle’s newly-developed 2.0-litre, 16-valve turbocharged diesel powerplant delivers a fair degree of fuel economy (30.1 mpg urban; 37.7mpg extra urban; 34.0 mpg combined). 

The UK launch of the Steed comes 35 years after the first Great Wall vehicle rolled down the company’s production line in Baoding, Hebei Province, near Beijing.  In the interim period, the brand has become China’s largest SUV producer, building total assets of £2.7 billion, an employee base of over 45,000 people worldwide, and an annual production capacity of 800,000 vehicles, with plans to increase to 1.5 million by 2015.  It currently exports vehicles to over 120 countries.

“The Steed is sure to attract lots of interest in the UK thanks to its unbeatable value and the unique Great Wall customer service promise being offered by our new network of dealers,” said Paul Hegarty, managing director, Great Wall UK.  “Our pick-up boasts a high level of practicality, reliability and durability, as well as low running costs. It will represent a superb ownership proposition and will give Great Wall a flying start in the UK.”