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Great Wall Motor suspends production of the tank brand for a week to cool down in view of the heat wave in China

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Great Wall Motorthe largest SUV maker in mainland China, will halt production of its Tank brand vehicles for a week at the end of this month, citing extreme weather conditions as the northwest and east of the country battle a brutal heatwave.

Tank is a premium SUV brand launched in 2021, and Great Wall produces both petrol and plug-in versions. The brand’s sales account for over a fifth of total sales.

The company, based in Baoding in northern China’s Hebei province, said in a statement on Wednesday that all three plants where the armored vehicles are assembled would cease work and that customers may experience delivery delays.

“As temperatures continue to rise, we plan to inspect and maintain production equipment at the tank factories,” the statement said. “We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience caused by the production stoppage.”

A summer heatwave has forced Great Wall Motor to stop production of its tank vehicles. Photo: Weibo

This year the entire mainland was experiencing sweltering heat.

Temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius were recorded in about 20 regions, including Shanghai and neighboring Zhejiang province, on Wednesday.

Great Wall is the first major automaker in mainland China to announce a temporary halt to production this summer due to bad weather.

In the past, automakers have halted production for a few days in July or August to give workers a break and conduct safety inspections at their plants. Some plants have even had to shut down operations to avert a summer energy crisis.

“It is believed that all automakers, especially electric vehicle makers, want to minimize the impact of the heat wave this year as competition is already fierce,” said Eric Han, senior manager at Suolei, a consulting firm in Shanghai. “A severe shortage of supply, even in the short term, will prompt customers to look for other brands.”

China’s automotive sector is suffering from overcapacity and needs to increase its profitability in the face of an escalating price war.

Among the top players only BYDthe world’s largest electric vehicle maker by revenue, and Li Auto, a direct competitor to Tesla in mainland China, have reported profits so far this year.
In April, Goldman Sachs predicted that a further price cut of 10,300 yuan per vehicle by BYD, or 7 percent of the company’s average selling price, could push China’s electric car industry into losses this year.

In June, Great Wall delivered 26,059 tank-badged vehicles, a record high. Monthly sales represented a 104 percent increase over the same period in 2023 and a 28.2 percent increase from the previous month.

Tank did not provide a detailed breakdown of deliveries of gasoline and hybrid units.

In the first half of 2024, Tank delivered a total of 116,038 vehicles to buyers on the mainland, 99 percent more than in the previous year.

Tank started as a gasoline car brand before an electric model called the 500 Hi4-T was launched in mid-2023. The basic version of the Off-road vehiclecosts 335,000 yuan (46,093 US dollars).

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