According to Automotive News, Great Wall Motor Co. plans to sell its vehicles in the US by 2015. The Chinese car company has been planning its expansion for the last two years and has looked at everything from regulatory hurdles to establishing a dealer network, as well as the customers needs and wants.
Although it isn't clear what model car they plan to bring to the US, it is apparent that they have been looking to establish a factory stateside. The Chinese automaker currently sells its wares in over 70 countries and regions across the earth, but has yet to establish itself within the US or within Canada. Great Wall brought 26 vehicles to last weekend's press day for the Shanghai Motor Show, including a stand-alone section for its Haval brand of SUVs.
At the moment, the only Chinese-built cars sold in North America are Honda Fit models, and they are only available in Canada (however, General Motors recently opened the door to importing their own Chinese-built models). So even though Asian car companies have bee promising to deliver their cars to the US, none have exactly been able to as of yet.
That being said, Great Wall is one of China's most respected automakers with lots of experience in setting up global factories and exporting, so it seems inevitable that they will be able to break into the US market in real moment. For now though, there is still debate as to how quickly they will be able to actualise their plans. A recent study by Bernstein Research suggested that Chinese automakers still have a decade or more of development before they will be able to field globally competitive products.
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