With all the excitement around The GWM P-Series we thought it might be worth taking a look at the History of GWM. How did they land up at this point and who were the influential players in building the brand to where it is today? GWM was named after the Great Wall of China and it was formed in the year 1984. GWM is currently China’s biggest producer of SUV’s.
GWM’s started with low volume production of trucks. The first of these trucks was called CC130 which was followed by the CC513. In the 1990’s the brand started producing sedan vehicles grabbing the attention of the growing middle class in China.
The brand first entered the South African market in 2007 launching with single cab and double cab bakkies. This meant they entered one of the biggest contested markets in the country. A few years later the company began production on a number of SUV’s and pick up’s namely the HAVAL H3 Diesel Comfortable Model, HAVAL M2, HAVAL H5 European Style Version, HAVAL H5 Intelligent Version, HAVAL H5 Automatic Transmission, MPV model Great Wall V80, WINGLE 5, and the first sedan car Voleex C30.
The GMW brand we see today started to become more recognisable with the global launch of the Haval H6 which won numerous safety awards and is one the icons of the GWM/Haval brand. In 2014 GWM began is focus around production of SUV’s. The H1, H2 and the H6 were the models our market is most familiar with but other models such as the H8 and the H9 were also launched.
After a long 18 month wait CMH Haval Little Falls has The GWM P-Series now that it has hit the South African shores. The P-Series was announced at The Auto Shanghai and since then the South African market has been anticipating its arrival.
The New P-Series Pickup is GWM’s latest offering in the SA market. With vehicles like the Hilux and Ranger already dominating the market, it’s a welcome alternative! This new comfort vehicle comes with safety features such as Lane Support System, Lane departure warning, Lane keeping assist, Lane Centre keeping, Blind spot information system, 360-degree camera and a Reverse camera.
It is competitively priced as well, with the passenger derivatives starting from R434 900. This price will certainly be appealing as this is a much cheaper starting price than a Ranger or Hilux. Under the hood is a two-litre turbocharged-diesel unit producing 120kW and 400 Nm.
GWM has also stated that it will be available in double cab only for the passenger vehicles with a choice of 2 separate grades. LS (Luxury Special) and LT(Luxury Tourer). The LS grade of the P-Series has features like LED headlights, 7 airbags and 9-inch multimedia system. The LT grade adds to these features and offers voice recognition, a 220 V charger, heated seats, a chrome styling bar and adaptive cruise control.
In summary this new vehicle is a serious contender in the pick-up market. Shop our stock at CMH Haval Little Falls and get behind the wheel of the GWM P Series today.