Great Wall Motor: the group, its brands and who controls it
Facts checked
- Private
- HKEX 2333
- SSE 601633
Listing: Hong Kong since 15 December 2003 (stock code 2333) and Shanghai since 28 September 2011 (601633)
Great Wall Motor is a private carmaker from Baoding, a city in Hebei province about 150 km south-west of Beijing. It grew out of a small vehicle repair workshop founded in 1976, began building its own commercial vehicles in 1984, and has been run by Wei Jianjun since 1990. It was the first private Chinese carmaker to list in Hong Kong, on 15 December 2003, and added a Shanghai listing on 28 September 2011.
The company sells almost nothing under its own Chinese name at home. Its output is split across marques: Haval for mainstream SUVs, Tank for ladder-frame off-roaders, Wey for larger premium models named after the chairman's surname, Ora for small electric cars, the Great Wall Pao pickup line, and Souo for motorcycles. Abroad the marques sit under the GWM initials, so a car can be badged GWM Haval Jolion or GWM Tank 300 in the same showroom.
Great Wall sold 1,323,672 vehicles in calendar 2025, of which 506,066 went overseas and 403,653 were new-energy vehicles. Revenue was CNY 222.79bn and net profit CNY 9.912bn, a fall of about 22% on 2024 that the company attributed in part to the cost of expanding abroad. It says it exports to more than 170 countries and regions and has passed 1.4 million cumulative overseas sales.
Unlike most Chinese exporters it builds cars outside China as well as shipping them. It has full-process plants at Tula in Russia, Rayong in Thailand and Iracemapolis in Brazil, plus knock-down assembly in Ecuador and Pakistan. Its one manufacturing joint venture is Spotlight Automotive at Zhangjiagang, a 50/50 company with the BMW Group that builds electric MINI models for worldwide sale.
Key facts
| Chinese name | 长城汽车 “chahng-CHUNG chee-CHUH” 长城 Chángchéng is the Great Wall — literally 'long wall'; 汽车 qìchē means 'motor vehicle'. |
|---|---|
| Legal name | Great Wall Motor Company Limited |
| Ownership | Private |
| Founded | 1984 by Wei Deliang started the Baoding repair workshop in 1976; his nephew Wei Jianjun took charge in July 1990 and is still chairman. |
| Headquarters | Baoding, Hebei, China |
| Vehicles | Cars, Commercial vehicles and Motorcycles |
| Listings | HKEX 2333 and SSE 601633 |
| 2025 sales | 1,323,672 vehicles, up 7.33% on 2024 - a record for the company |
| 2025 overseas sales | 506,066 vehicles, up 11.68%, close to 40% of the total |
| 2025 sales by brand | Haval 758,554; Tank 232,713; Great Wall pickups 181,660; Wey 101,954; Ora 48,289 |
| 2025 revenue and profit | Revenue CNY 222.79bn, up 10.19%; net profit CNY 9.912bn, down 21.7% (2025 earnings flash report) |
| Controlling shareholder | Baoding Innovation Great Wall Asset Management Co., Ltd. held 5,115,000,000 shares, about 59.9% of the share capital, at 30 June 2026; Wei Jianjun controls it |
| Overseas plants | Tula, Russia (150,000 vehicles a year), Rayong, Thailand (80,000) and Iracemapolis, Brazil (50,000), plus knock-down plants in Ecuador and Pakistan |
| Export reach | Exports to more than 170 countries and regions; more than 1.4 million cumulative overseas sales (company figures, undated) |
| Listings | Hong Kong since 15 December 2003 (stock code 2333) and Shanghai since 28 September 2011 (601633) |
Ownership tree
- Great Wall Motor (group)
- GWM (brand) Held at 100%
- GWM Poer (brand) Held at 100%
- Haval (brand) Held at 100%
- Ora (brand) Held at 100%
- Souo (brand) Held at 100%
- Tank (brand) Held at 100%
- Wey (brand) Held at 100%
Who controls Great Wall Motor?
Wei Jianjun controls Baoding Innovation Great Wall Asset Management Co., Ltd..
Wei Jianjun is the legal representative of Baoding Innovation Great Wall Asset Management Co., Ltd., the company that holds the controlling block in Great Wall Motor. His exact percentage of that company is not set out in any filing read here; a figure of about 62% circulates in press profiles and is left out rather than recorded unverified.
Baoding Innovation Great Wall Asset Management Co., Ltd. owns Great Wall Motor at 59.9%.
Great Wall Motor's controlling shareholder held 5,115,000,000 shares at 30 June 2026, shown as 59.902% of the share capital on one aggregator and 59.63% on another. HKSCC Nominees, which holds the Hong Kong-traded H shares, was next with 2,305,334,261 shares. Both aggregator pages rendered the holder's name inconsistently; the underlying share count and date agree.
| Holder | What it is | Share | Since | What the source says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wei Jianjun | controls | controls | 1990 | Wei Jianjun is Great Wall Motor's chairman and controlling shareholder. He does not hold the controlling block personally: it sits in Baoding Innovation Great Wall Asset Management Co., Ltd., of which he is the legal representative. He took charge of the company in July 1990 and the Wei family held about 56% by 2001. |
Stakes and ventures Great Wall Motor holds
These are holdings that are not outright ownership, so they are not in the tree above. A joint venture is a third company the two parents built together: the percentage is a share of that venture, never a holding in the partner.
| Holding | What it is | Share | Since | What the source says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayerische Motoren Werke AG | runs a joint venture with | not published | 29 November 2019 | Spotlight Automotive Ltd. (光束汽车) is owned 50/50 by Great Wall Motor and the BMW Group; the stake field is null because neither partner owns any part of the other. The agreement was signed in 2018, the company was inaugurated at Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu on 29 November 2019, the partners put in about EUR 650m between them and the plant is rated at 160,000 vehicles a year. It builds the electric MINI Cooper and Aceman. Checked on 4 September 2026: the joint venture's own site still describes the split as 50/50 and a Gasgoo report of a BMW delegation visit dated 4 April 2026 calls it a 50-50 joint venture. No filing or announcement showing BMW taking over Great Wall's half was found. |
Brands
| Brand | Held | Origin | Founded | Models | Markets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 长城GWM | directly | China | 1984 | 0 | 64 |
| 哈弗Haval | directly | China | 2013 | 4 | 26 |
| 魏牌Wey | directly | China | 2016 | 1 | 3 |
| 坦克Tank | directly | China | 2021 | 3 | 7 |
| 欧拉Ora | directly | China | 2018 | 2 | 11 |
| 长城炮GWM Poer | directly | China | 2019 | 1 | 8 |
| 灵魂Souo | directly | China | 2024 | 0 | 1 |
Joint ventures
| Venture | Partner | Since | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spotlight Automotive Ltd. (光束汽车有限公司) | Bayerische Motoren Werke AG | November 2019 | 50/50 with the BMW Group; agreement signed 2018, company inaugurated at Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu on 29 November 2019; about EUR 650m of combined investment and a nameplate capacity of 160,000 vehicles a year. It builds the electric MINI Cooper and Aceman. Both partners still described it as a 50/50 venture in 2026; no filing showing BMW taking it over was found in this pass. |
Great Wall Motor: questions people ask
- Is GWM the same as Haval?
- GWM is the company; Haval is one of its brands. Great Wall Motor also sells Tank, Wey, Ora, the Pao pickups and Souo motorcycles. In many export markets the two names appear together, as in GWM Haval Jolion, which is why they are often taken for the same thing.
- Who owns Great Wall Motor?
- It is a private company controlled by its chairman, Wei Jianjun. He holds his position through Baoding Innovation Great Wall Asset Management Co., Ltd., which held about 59.9% of the shares at 30 June 2026. The rest is publicly traded in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
- Is Great Wall Motor state-owned?
- No. It was privatised in 1998 and has been controlled by the Wei family since. It was the first private Chinese carmaker to list in Hong Kong, in December 2003.
- What does GWM stand for?
- Great Wall Motor. The Chinese name is 长城汽车 (Chángchéng Qìchē), and 长城 is the Great Wall itself. The company is based in Baoding in Hebei, the province the wall crosses north of Beijing.
- Does Great Wall Motor build MINIs?
- It builds them jointly. Spotlight Automotive at Zhangjiagang in Jiangsu is a 50/50 company with the BMW Group, inaugurated in November 2019, that produces the electric MINI Cooper and Aceman for sale worldwide.
Related
Sources for Great Wall Motor
- Gasgoo, Great Wall Motor posts record full-year sales in 2025 despite Dec. slowdown. Read . Published 4 January 2026, reporting GWM's own production and sales announcement, with the brand-level split.
- Gasgoo, Great Wall Motor Achieves 10 Billion Yuan in Net Profit in 2025. Read . Published 4 February 2026, reporting GWM's 2025 earnings flash report.
- Sina Finance, 长城汽车 (601633) shareholder register. Read . Top holder 5,115,000,000 shares (59.902%) at 30 June 2026; HKSCC Nominees 2,305,334,261 shares (26.998%).
- Great Wall Motor, About GWM. Read . Company account of its brands (Haval, Wey, Tank, Ora, Poer, Souo), ten Chinese plants, overseas plants and capacities, 170+ export markets, 1.4m cumulative overseas sales, 25,000+ R&D and design staff.
- Wikipedia, Great Wall Motor. Read . Finding aid for the founding chronology, the 1998 privatisation and the two listing dates.
- BMW Group PressClub, BMW Group to build future MINI E vehicles in China with Great Wall Motor - official inauguration of Spotlight Automotive Limited. Read . Inauguration 29 November 2019; about EUR 650m combined investment; capacity up to 160,000 vehicles a year.
- Spotlight Automotive, Spotlight Automotive Ltd. company site. Read . States the 50/50 split between Great Wall Motor and the BMW Group as at the date accessed.
- Great Wall Motor, Global - GWM country and region sites. Read . GWM's own list of the countries where it has a sales site.