GWM: manufacturers not ready for electrification will be out if the game

By Décio Costa |9/21/23 | Translated by Jorge Meditsch

GWM believes that, despite national vehicle evolution over the last few years, the Brazilian automotive industry is stuck in time with the product concept that arrived here in the 1990s when imports were opened.

“Abroad, such as in Europe and China, the sector has been working in electrification and connectivity for more than ten years”, said Oswaldo Ramos, GWM’s commercial director, in an online conference when he reassured the brand’s commitment to the country. “Everybody could already have launched hybrids here.”

For the executive, the national vehicle industry has a great opportunity ahead to review concepts and even the potential to become a global example in the pursuit of carbon neutrality.

“The Green Mobility program (which replaces Rota 2030’s second phase) being elaborated by the government should enable access to the technology for the Brazilian consumer and provide guidelines for the next five years. With the ethanol contribution, the country has the best decarbonization solution from well to wheel”.

Ramos thinks the electrified vehicle participation increase in the market will keep a slow pace until it reaches about 5%. After that, the speed would change.

“It’s the inflection point, showing consistent sales and some consolidated infrastructure. It happened this way in other markets. The moment is close, and we will achieve it in no more than two years. Who would not be ready will certainly be out of the game.”

To not lose the train, the director anxiously waits for the Green Mobility program and prepares the brand’s structure in Iracemápolis, SP, to begin producing electrified models in mid-2024.

With the program, not only GWM but the whole industry will be stimulated to develop engineering and localize the production of electrified vehicles in Brazil. “It is fundamental that the product be adequate to the country’s reality.

Ramos says that with the right product, the ends meet. He points to the example of the Haval H6, the brand’s first model in the Brazilian market. In little more than four months, it took the lead in hybrid car sales, with more than five thousand units already delivered.

Next month, the brand will begin to offer the Ora 03, a full-electric model that will start to sell in November and be delivered in December. On another front, GWM plans to bring a hydrogen-cell truck. “it’s the last step in electrification, which shall gain scale in heavy vehicles to become viable in the future.”