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Philip Lord15 Apr 2019
NEWS

Haval to reboot

Fledgling Chinese SUV brand to spruik western credentials as part of five-year plan to woo Aussies

Chinese SUV brand Haval hopes to reinvent itself in the face of a faltering domestic market and after failing to make an impact on the Australian market in almost three years.

As the first step in a five-year plan to expand its export sales and reverse its Australian fortunes, it will next month kick off a new advertising campaign that focusses on its western engineering credentials and ‘Made in China’ value.

To begin in May, the campaign was put together by Haval Australia’s first dedicated advertising agency, global firm Havas, and will focus primarily on free-to-air TV and online platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram to engage prospective buyers.

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“The time has changed. In the past, Great Wall [owner of the Haval brand] had a huge growing chance in the domestic market, so the company focused on that,” Great Wall Motors Australia chief operating officer, Hidesuke Takasue, told carsales.com.au at Haval’s headquarters in Baoding, China.

“Now, the situation has totally changed. Last year was the first year that the Chinese industry dropped versus the previous year. Now the company is seriously seeking to develop the outside-China business. That’s the reason why we started to work with Havas.”

Speaking to carsales.com.au in China, Havas executive creative director Damien Royce said that research showed the company had been primarily “price-led”.

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He said that Haval realises it needs to be presented as a “value proposition rather than a cheap product”.

Royce added that in its advertising, the brand would draw on references to its western supplier base -- which includes companies such as ZF and Valeo -- to make the brand recognised by potential buyers as being “built by the world for the world”.

The ads will pitch Haval SUVs as internationally engineered vehicles that are made in China. This, according to Royce, “reassures [buyers] that there will be good parts availability but with efficiencies that allow the company to sell at a great price”.

The campaign line will be “New Car Thinking”, which suggests “that you should consider a new brand, put it on your shopping list”.

Haval H6

In 15- and 30-second ads for the small H2, mid-size H6 and large H9 SUVs, drivers leave behind their ‘old-car thinking’ to instead pursue new-car thinking by purchasing a Haval, explained Royce.

However, due to Haval’s focus on the left-hand drive domestic market, its cupboard is bare for right-hand drive future product. In either late 2020 or early 2021 some much-needed fresh models will arrive Down Under, beginning with a next-generation mid-size SUV in either the new Haval H6 or F7.

While Australia soldiers on with the first-gen H6, the Chinese market last year received an updated H6 with a 1.5-litre direct-injection 124kW/285Nm petrol engine and seven-speed dual-clutch auto.

Haval F7.

This model will be replaced by an all-new model on a new platform (engineered for right-hand drive) next year. The Haval F7, a new mid-size SUV targeting younger buyers, is the other possible replacement for Australia’s existing H6.

The new campaign and subsequent fresh metal can’t come soon enough for Haval, which was introduced here in late 2016.

Official VFACTS figures show that sales for the fledgling Chinese brand were down 10.8 per cent in 2018, from 710 to 633 units. Its best-selling model in 2017 (with 308 sales) was the H6, sales of which dropped a huge 41.6 per cent to 180 units in 2018.

Haval F7 interior.

By contrast, fellow Chinese-owned brand MG —whose range comprises two SUVs in the GS and ZS and a small hatch, the MG3 — has gone from strength to strength, selling 600 vehicles in 11 months of 2017 and more than 3000 units in 2018.

To the end of March 2019, MG has already sold over 1700 vehicles. If that sort of sales rate continues, the brand would be on track to sell nearly 7000 vehicles by the end of 2019 in only its second full year in the Australian market.

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Written byPhilip Lord
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