As the German publication Manager Magazin revealed, citing insiders, Great Wall informed employees and business partners about this step on Tuesday. The entire top management team around Steffen Cost will be among the 100 employees of Great Wall Motor Europe who will lose their jobs at the end of August. The former Kia manager leads the European headquarters as commercial director.
However, the closure of the Munich headquarters will not mean that the company is planning to withdraw from Europe: Existing markets will continue to be served, but the European business will be managed from afar in China. However, the previously planned expansion into new European markets is no longer on the table; at least not for the time being. In addition to Germany, Great Wall currently offers EVs and plug-in hybrids in the UK, Ireland, Sweden and Israel. The market launch in countries such as Austria and Switzerland was already planned, teams were set up, and general managers responsible for the markets were hired, however, these efforts will no longer be realized.
Manager Magazin writes that, in Germany, the partnership with the Emil Frey Group will be continued. The car dealership group will be responsible for importing the vehicles and managing the dealer network. “Emil Frey will have to communicate directly with the management in Baoding instead of with contacts in Munich,” the article states.
Nevertheless, there is a certain question mark over the future of Great Wall in Germany. Chinese management initially could not agree on a sales model with the German partner. A short time later, Great Wall radically changed its brand strategy, and model names that had only just been established, such as Ora Funky Cat for the small electric car or Wey Coffee 01, were discontinued. Instead, Great Wall Motors became the main brand in Europe, and the models were renamed GWM Ora 03 or GWM Wey 05. According to the report, the Emil Frey Group was not exactly pleased.
It remains to be seen how the Emil Frey Group and the import partners in other countries will continue their commitment to Great Wall – and how much time and money Great Wall will continue to invest in Europe. One thing is clear: the car manufacturer led by Wei Jianjun, who goes by Jack Wey in Europe, has clearly missed its European expansion targets so far – it only reported 6,300 new registrations in 2023.
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- Source: https://www.electrive.com/2024/05/28/great-wall-to-close-its-european-headquarters-in-munich/