According to TapTechNews on May 30th, foreign media reported that Great Wall Motors plans to close its European headquarters in Munich, Germany by the end of August and lay off all 100 employees. The company will cease its expansion to other European markets, but does not intend to exit Europe.
The German magazine ManagerMagazin quoted an insider as saying that Great Wall Motors informed employees and business partners of this move on Tuesday. Steffen Cost, the chief commercial officer of Great Wall Motors' European headquarters, and his senior management team are all on the layoff list when the Great Wall Motors European company shuts down at the end of August.
However, the report also said that the closure of the Munich headquarters does not mean that Great Wall Motors plans to withdraw from Europe: existing markets will continue to be served, but the European business will be managed by the Chinese headquarters. Previously planned plans to enter new European markets have been put on hold, at least for the time being.
TapTechNews noticed that in addition to Germany, Great Wall Motors currently also provides electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles in the UK, Ireland, Sweden and Israel. It is reported that the market development of countries such as Austria and Switzerland has been planned, teams have been formed, and market general managers have also been hired, but everything will be paused.
In 2021, Great Wall Motors shared its initial plan to sell electric vehicles in Europe. In 2022, Great Wall Motors reached a cooperation with the largest automotive dealer group in Europe, Emil Frey, to help distribute its Ora and Wey brand cars.
The report mentioned that Great Wall Motors did not reach its expansion goals in Europe. Up to now, the company has only reported 6300 new registrations in 2023. In Germany, the cooperation relationship between Great Wall Motors and the Emil Frey group will continue. The automotive dealer group will be responsible for importing vehicles and managing the dealer network. Emil Frey must communicate directly with the management of Great Wall Motors at its headquarters in Baoding, Hebei, rather than with contacts in Munich.
The report pointed out that the Chinese management initially failed to reach an agreement with the German partner on the sales model. Great Wall Motors completely changed its brand strategy halfway through. Just-established model names, such as the small electric vehicle Ora Funky Cat or Wey Coffee 01, were discontinued. Instead, Great Wall Motors (Great Wall Motors) became the main brand in Europe and renamed the models to GWM Ora 03 or GWM Wey 05. The report said that the Emil Frey group was not satisfied with this.