[TonyJZX]

Does anyone have any insight into the situation in Australia? They were slated for about this time (middle '09) but there's been no word.

I would say the market has toughed up a lot with the Indian Mahindra starting at only USD$13,000 and even Thailand made Isuzu 4 door 2wd utes starting at only USD$20,000.

The Isuzu is at the upper end with airbags and a general Japanese design with a 3.0 litre turbo diesel motor. The Chinese would be more at the Indian end with no bags and a general 1980s attitude to safety.

 

[KiwiGuy]

Hello Tony.
I live over "The Ditch" in New Zealand and I've been tracking Great Wall in Australia since I joined this forum. Great Wall have exported and conducted testing in Australia, even though their website does not include dealerships on their map. They have exported 3000 utes to you guys and I have a pick of an Aussie registered GW.

Hope this helps.:thumb:

 

[TonyJZX]

the problem is the market in australia is getting tougher by the day especially for commericials

you can buy any number of famous brand two door japanese utes with a tray for under AUD$20k... with generous offers for business owners

a good buy is a 2wd Isuzu crew cab ute for only $25k - why buy a chinese copy when you can get the original Thai built for that little

what is still expensive is true 4wd crew cab utes

i think the Isuzu 4x4 crew cab is like $32k - granted you get a state of the art 3.0 litre turbodiesel with 120kW and 360Nm which I don't think the chinese can match

as yet there are no offerings for chinese cars of any sort in australia despite the news reports

 

[KiwiGuy]

Keep a look out Tony. I read that Chery is already in Australia as well as Dongfeng heading there sometime. I'm pretty sure there's a Chery dealership in Darwin I think.
Anyway, we only have just got Cadillac in NZ after about a year of waiting. Chery said they'd enter the market here in the planned time period Cadillac did.
Still waiting.

 

[micodelija]

hover also passed all australian laws, it will be offered there for sure, by my opinion any older model of great wall like sailor of deer is better then mahindra, simply i don't like mahindra and i drive it plenty of time, if we compare the vehicles with the isuzu d-max there is a new wingle pick up which is based on the d-max but have more competetive price, also wingle is avalaible with 4g69 gasoline engines and 2.5 isuzu based engines which don't have so much power like that diesel from isuzu but I am sure that have better fuel consuption

 

[phaeton]

Next weekend

In The Advertiser's CarsGuide liftout today.

I called the dealer; he said vehicles will be arriving mid week so launch must be early next week.

So pricing is as follows.......

(Sailor) SA220 d/c AUD $19,990
(Wingle) V240 4x2 d/c AUD $23,990
(Wingle) V240 4x4 d/c AUD $26,990

 

[TonyJZX]

http://goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/BD10553237E7A8E1CA2575DF002A21E8

this my expert opinion (!!!)

ateco is one of the worst importers in australia offering very high pricing and very ungenerous attitude towards warranty claims

1st. the SA220 (Sailor) and V240 2wd is no bargain at $19,990/$23,990 simply because 2wd utes are very unpopular here... people want 4wd utes

if you want a 2wd ute you can buy the Isuzu D-Max 2wd crew cab ute for $24,990... it has a DOHC turbo diesel 3.0 litre with 120kW and 360Nm... for that $5,000 extra you get airbags, abs and all the modern features you expect

also the engines seem gross uncompetitive... eg. the v240 has a Mitsubishi 2.4 petrol (I assume it's a 4G64 type SOHC) with 100kW and 200Nm... for a 1,660 - 1,780kg ute... you must understand australians like to tow large caravans and boats and other things... this will not do

2nd. the V240 4wd is $26,990 while cheap for a 4wd ute is no great bargain when you realise you cannot tow with it

$29,990 is the price for a Nissan Navara d22 with 98kW and 304Nm which can town very well.

for about $33k is the starting price for a basic Holden Colorado/Isuzu which has that big 3.0 litre 120kW/360Nm diesel that can tow very well.

Price of the L200 Triton is also in that range. There are also good business tax benefits which helps lower the pricing.

I think the v240/Wingle really needs the new nose and the new 2.5 TCi diesel? Or something at least partway competitive with the modern turbo diesels in the other trucks.

Also no automatics is a loss. Australians are almost as bad as Americans in their love with auto boxes.

 

[phaeton]

I went to the local dealer and guess what no stock

I did speak to the rep to see how things were going........
-Asked if a diesel was on the way he said probably as most enquiries so far are are the pickups diesel powered or not.
-also asked about sales; the rep said they've nearly got their first one.......
-the Florid and Tiggo will be released later this year which should help with showroom traffic.

IMO what is needed as Tony mentioned is........

-Diesel power
-perhaps even keener pricing (if possible)
-Automatics

 

[KiwiGuy]

Hehe, we've got them here too. Even where I live. BTW, isn't the Tiggo from Chery, so why is it being sold by Great Wall?
I'm excited though. I've been wanting a Chinese manufacture down here for ages (MG/Rover don't count).
Official website: www.greatwallauto.co.au

 

[phaeton]

I went to the Dealer on Saturday and finally saw my first Chinese branded vehicles in Australia (remember VW introduced the Shanghai produced Polo Sedan in Australia in 2003 ).

 

[phaeton]

The V-Series is good for what is it a rebadged Isuzu DMax/Holden Colorado build quality seems to be average I thought the panel gaps where larger than I remembered the Isuzu/Holden.

Interior was good leather or faux leather what ever it was is good but the rest is plasticky (I guess you get what you pay for.).

 

[phaeton]

The SA-Series was as expected cheap in all aspects as it is based on the Late 1980s-2002 TF Series Isuzu (Holden Rodeo) and as such inherits its interior space and aged design.

The cheesy D22 Nissan Navara like grill is shocking in person when you look through to the radiator there is a massive gap.

Saying all that though does not mean its bad its well proven but reliable..... we will have to wait an see Australia is a tough country and will eventually show the major weaknesses of the GW's.

 

[phaeton]

The above picture bugged me as I thought the coolant was to lime green for my liking I just hope the Glycol percentage is up to scratch otherwise these will boil in Summer.

 

[micodelija]

i think that your comments is little bit too harsh, first of all interior of wingle and sailor is identical to isuzu d-max, model from 2005, i know because we sold some interiors to isuzu dealeships and all fit without any problem

also the plastics from isuzu and great wall is the same, 100% identical, all brackets and all fits without problem, also my wingle have over 60000 km and the interior is very good quality, i also compare it with some models of toyota hilux and nissan navara which is also very popular here in croatia, to me they all have very small differences between them, but price of toyota and nissan here is croatia is almost 10000 € from gwm, and not to forget also, wingle have full eqipment while others are simply basic equipment but with 4x4, also we all know that is a working car

also sailor model can't be comaped to wingle, becuase wingle production is doing on complety new production line, while sailor is still coming from the old production line where are also older models of gwm produced, there was some changes made on sailor, because lot of them have been exported

also maybe it will be intresting that you also compare cost of maintance for gwm and for other brands, here where i like cost for GWM is almost 40% cheaper that other models

many times i have rides with my friend which have mitsubishi l200, toyota hilux and nissan navara and i never have any problems to pass where they also pass, also wingle can carry the same like all other models, still i save 10000 € in my pocket because all other models are more expensive then wingle and have the same usage

 

[CCF mod]

Excellent pictures phaeton.
So far the only Chinese vehicle I have seen in person was Shuanghuan CEO.

 

[phaeton]

I think I was fair just remember the Australian media won't be as fair.

Just because it was built cheaply does not mean it will be cheaper in the long term but you raise a valid point.
Although I read once in Overlander (a 4x4 magazine) reader complained at how expensive in the long term it was to keep his cheap Tata on the road compared to the most expensive dual cab the Hilux.

Here is another photo that shows how fragile the carpet is in the SA220 (Sailor) around the hump.
If you'll also notice already has markings (on the plastic) on it hopefully should come off with soapy water.

 

[TonyJZX]

the rodeo is no different

you should have seen how flogged out our old work rodeos were after all the builders had a go at it

you'll find utes are lead to a different standard - as long as they are reliable and hard wearing it should be ok

btw. is that a pushrod motor in the SA220?

 

[micodelija]

the engine in sailor is "derivate" of toyota 4y engine, it's a gasoline engine with 2200 ccm and 78 kw, mpi, also sailor is little bit lower quality then wingle, we will see how will australian market react on this new brand

 

[cuisine]

Is GWM Deer and GWM Safe for sale too ???

 

[KiwiGuy]

I have a question: does Fiat sell Panda in Australia brand new? Because it will either be the Florid or the Peri which will be the "light car" that will be sold soon. Also, does anyone here think that the two threads "Great Wall in Australia" and "Great Wall in New Zealand" should remain separate or be merged together as one?
Any news would be great:thumb: