Great Wall rides again

Great Wall Motors -- the first Chinese brand to set up shop in Australia, back in June 2009 – will return Down Under in October after being dormant for the past 18 months.

New factory-owned distributor Great Wall Motors Australia (GWMA) tonight announced it will release a new ute in the fourth quarter of this following a protracted dispute with former independent Great Wall importer Ateco Automotive.

Simply dubbed the 'Great Wall ute', the new utility is based on China's Wingle 6 and GWMA promises it will deliver "a combination of outstanding value and great reliability".

Few details have been announced, but like the Great Wall V200 ute it belatedly replaces, the new Chinese tray-back range will be topped by a 4x4 turbo-diesel model.

GWMA says only that it will be available with a six-speed manual transmission, Borg-Warner torque on demand intelligent four-wheel drive system and Eaton differential lock.

"It will also feature high levels of safety, with ESP and six airbags as standard equipment," it said.

It's unclear of multiple body styles will be offered, but as you can see from these official images, the new Great Wall ute will at least come in dual-cab 4x4 for, with alloy wheels, tub liner and chromed rollover bar.

Full pricing and all-important pricing is yet to be revealed, but more details are expected after Great Wall Motor Company Limited assume control of its brand in Australia and New Zealand on July 1.

GWMA managing director Parker Shi pledged to deliver continued service for existing Australian customers and dealers, as well as "solutions to any customer and dealer issues with the backing of the company’s impressive resources".

“This signals the beginning of an exciting new era for China’s most successful utility manufacturer in the region,” he said.

“As demand for utilities continues to grow, Great Wall Motors decided now was the time to take the brand to the next level by establishing a direct OE presence here.

“Our emphasis will be customer service. We have a car park of more than 45,000 vehicles in Australia and New Zealand, and we would like all past and present owners to join the new organisation as we start down this exciting new road."

Details of the commercial settlement between Ateco and GWM remain secret, but Shi said most existing Great Wall dealers will remain retailers for the brand.

At its Australian peak in 2012, when more than 11,000 Great Wall V-Series utes and X-Series SUVs were sold, Ateco had a national dealer network of about 90 dealers, before the distribution dispute saw imports cease and sales all but stop in 2014.

"We are having discussions with the entire Great Wall dealer network and we are confident the vast majority will become part of the new business.

“Those discussions have revealed an enormous amount of goodwill for the GWM brand in both countries.

“On behalf of GWMA I would like to thank the previous distributor for the work they did in establishing the brand.”

GWMA will share its headquarters with sister company HAVAL Motors Australia in Melbourne and its general manager will be HAVAL's current national aftersales manager Tony Carraturo.

While HAVAL will continue to offer only SUV models in Australia, Great Wall will sell only light commercial vehicles and has no plans to import any of the brand's passenger cars sold in China.

“Great Wall will focus solely on light commercial vehicles, with HAVAL concentrating on SUVs," said Shi.

“We are confident this strategy will allow both companies to dedicate their resources into the two fastest growing segments in the Australian automotive market.”