GREAT Wall Motor Co Ltd will start exporting another two of its small-engine vehicle models to Russia from next year as it aims to meet growing demand for fuel-efficient compact cars.

Hebei Province-based Great Wall plans to sell 1.3-liter and 1.5-liter Florid and Coolbear compact cars in Russia, according to Zhang Guangxin, who is in charge of the auto maker's expansion in Russia. The two models first debuted overseas at the Moscow Auto Show which ended on Monday.

Zhang said the compact car segment accounts for a big market share in Russia and the Florid and Coolbear were introduced there to meet rising demand.

Great Wall, which diversified into making passenger cars, exported its first sedan, the Peri compact, to Russia in May. Since then, 286 Peri sedans have been delivered and another 300 will be exported by the end of this year.

Since its entry in Russia in 2004, Great Wall Motor has become the largest Chinese auto maker there, with combined sales of 50,000 units. It also tied up with a Russian distributor to build a plant in Russia making Hover SUVs and Wingle pickups.

As part of a strategy, China's car makers have been eying to grow sales of their self-owned models overseas to be globally competitive against international peers and improve technology for the sustained development of the Chinese auto industry.

There is growing demand for Chinese-made models in Russia, South Asia and Africa because they are competitively priced compared with American and Japanese models, according to market watchers.

"The two brand new models will also be sold at very competitive prices," Shang Yugui, a Great Wall spokesman told journalist in an interview yesterday.

Source : english.chinabuses.com

Editor : James

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