Great Wall plans upscale EV brand, report says

BEIJING -- China's Great Wall Motor plans to launch a new standalone brand for upscale electric vehicles, sources familiar with the plan said, as automakers in world's biggest car market pursue growth in EVs.

Great Wall has a 50-50 partnership with BMW in China and the two automakers are building a plant to build combustion-engine and electric variants of BMW's Mini brand and Great Wall cars.

The Chinese automaker currently builds Ora cars, an affordable full-electric brand in Baoding, the city where Great Wall is based.

Inspired by the market success of electric vehicle leader Tesla, as well as Chinese startups Nio, Li Auto and Xpeng, several Chinese automakers this year announced plans for new electric brands, mostly to offer more expensive products than their mass-market lines.

Conventional Chinese automakers such as SAIC Motor, Changan Automobile and GAC are seeking to move their products up the value chain as China's economic planners push new technologies.

The new standalone brand from Great Wall, internally coded as "SL project," will be priced higher than existing products, two people, who declined to be named, said.

The new brand, the name of which sources declined to reveal, will include SUVs and sedans.

Asked about the plan, a Great Wall spokesman said "the big tide has come, we will join the game," without elaborating.

To compete with rival Geely, Great Wall has added the P-series pickup truck and SUV models to its range. In the first 11 months, it sold almost a million vehicles.

The new brand is Great Wall's second attempt to crack the premium segment. In 2016, it launched its WEY brand for more upscale models, although it has struggled to generate sales growth.