Cost-effectiveness is just the entry ticket

"

Author｜Qin Zhangyong

The Great Wall H10 received 22,615 orders within 12 hours of pre-sale and 31,826 firm orders within 24 hours of its launch. On August 21st at the Chengdu Auto Show, Lv Wenbin appeared in good spirits during the media briefing that afternoon.

As the General Manager of the Haval and Ora brands at Great Wall Motors, the H10's popularity has kept him and his team exceptionally busy over the past month. A vivid testament to this is a 4S store in Beijing, where people were still lining up for test drives of the Great Wall H10 until 10 PM, with sales consultants voluntarily working until midnight. They even drove the car to customers' homes for test drives.

However, Lv Wenbin is well aware that the 30,000+ firm orders for the Great Wall H10 are just the beginning. Wei Jianjun has repeatedly asked him a question: How to sustain the momentum?

The RMB 200,000-300,000 price range is this year's most fiercely contested battleground, with nearly every domestic brand fielding competitive products. In this segment, cost-effectiveness has never been a moat—it's merely the entry ticket.

The answer will need to be validated by actual insurance registration data in the coming months.

01 Finding Blank Spaces in the Red Ocean

The Great Wall H10 is positioned as a 'new species for large families in a boxy design,' featuring a boxy shape + a large six-seater layout. This model is neither a niche story for off-road enthusiasts nor targeting the mass market of urban SUVs. Instead, the Great Wall H10 attempts to carve out a position in the market between the two.

"Currently, the Great Wall H10 is the first boxy large six-seater on the market," said Lv Wenbin. The boxy market is diversifying—from off-road to urban boxy designs, and then to light off-road for family use. The track is widening, but the niche of boxy large six-seaters was previously vacant.

This gap is no accident. China's family structure is changing, with more three-generation households and families with two children, creating a real demand for six-seater vehicles. Meanwhile, the rise of outdoor road trips and camping culture has made the boxy design and off-road capability resonate with emotional values. The Great Wall H10 combines the space of an MPV, the intelligence of an urban SUV, and the off-road capability of a light off-roader into one vehicle.

The order structure has validated this approach, with six-seaters accounting for 70%, meeting expectations. However, five-seaters make up 30%, higher than anticipated. Originally targeting young families, many actual buyers are aged 40 to 50. "They may not need six seats but like the boxy design and all-scenario capability," Lv Wenbin interpreted, suggesting potential growth for the Great Wall H10's large five-seater version.

A more critical signal lies in the model configurations, with over 60% of users opting for the top-tier model. This indicates that Great Wall H10 buyers are value-driven rather than price-sensitive, willing to pay for a fully-equipped vehicle.

Simultaneously, this has directly transformed Great Wall's user persona. "Previously, Haval's products had a relatively small share in first- and second-tier cities because they were mostly economy models," Lv Wenbin said. The Great Wall H10 is now crossing over to more educated users and higher-tier cities.

A noteworthy detail is that Lv Wenbin proactively discussed the future trend of HEV hybrid models during the group interview. He believes HEVs will be the next big trend, citing their strong residual value and excellent product experience.

Meanwhile, the topic of overseas expansion was repeatedly raised by the media. Lv Wenbin stated that the Great Wall H10 is planned to go overseas by the end of the year but did not disclose specific markets or sales targets.

02 The Rise of 'One Great Wall'

If the product logic of the Great Wall H10 is relatively clear, then the 'One Great Wall' strategy presents another complex challenge.

The Great Wall H10 deliberately downplays its association with the Haval brand, directly adopting the Great Wall parent brand name. Wei Jianjun has frequently interacted with netizens, including discussions on the naming, positioning, and definition of the Great Wall H10, indicating that this model's strategic weight far exceeds that of an ordinary new car—the Great Wall H10 is a signal flare for the parent brand's return.

In the future, Haval and Ora will achieve channel integration, unified technology platforms, and connected user operations.

Over the past few years, Great Wall's five brands—Haval, Ora, WEY, Tank, and Great Wall Cannon—have operated with independent channels, marketing, and even technology roadmaps. This model succeeded during the market growth phase but has increasingly highlighted issues of resource and brand cannibalization during the current phase of market consolidation.

The direction of 'One Great Wall' is to consolidate scattered resources into a fist.

However, integration is never a simple arithmetic problem. Channel integration means redefining investment entities, showroom layouts, and after-sales service systems, with every step involving negotiation over who gains or loses ground.

Currently, the effects of integration are not yet apparent, but one thing is clear: the Great Wall H10 is the first move in 'One Great Wall,' and its explosive performance has given the brand more confidence.

Regarding the Ora brand, Lv Wenbin revealed that Great Wall Ora's multi-power versions have helped the brand grow by 70%-80%. "We have even higher versions in the pipeline, with better power and driving performance."

From the 'One Great Wall' strategy to multi-power versions in a single model and then to global expansion, Great Wall's strategic vision has become clear through the Great Wall H10: consolidate brands, focus resources, leverage technology, validate with users, and then conquer global markets.

The Great Wall H10 is the first hit in this strategic context (translation note: ' context ' is translated as 'vision' to convey the strategic thread) and a litmus test. It proves that Great Wall can create products that high-tier city users are willing to buy in the RMB 200,000-300,000 range and demonstrates that the 'One Great Wall' brand consolidation is not just theoretical.

Perhaps the real tests lie ahead, such as product iterations and overseas expansion. But for now, the Great Wall H10 has delivered a satisfying answer.