Boosting brand influence and increasing quality are key factors in the sustainable development of GAC Motor, one of China's top homegrown automakers, according to a senior executive of the company.

"Our future business growth will be based on technological innovation, which is centered on high quality and branding," said Yu Jun, president of GAC Motor, at a recent meeting with employees to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

A subsidiary of the Shanghai and Hong Kong-listed Guangzhou Automobile Group, GAC Motor has consolidated itself as a leading domestic automaker in the Chinese market.

China's auto industry grew at a relatively slow rate of 3.04 percent in 2017, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. However, GAC Motor, based in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, sold more than 508,600 vehicles last year, with an annual increase of 37 percent, according to the company.

"As one of the industry's leaders, we have always been focusing on producing vehicles for the medium and high-end markets," Yu said. "Only through developing vehicles with high quality can our business maintain sustainable growth."

In the first two months of 2018, a typically low sales period, GAC Motor sold 95,136 vehicles, up 20.3 percent year-on-year, according to the company.

Solid start to year

Yu attributed the strong start to the year to GAC Motor's ever-growing fleet of models.

"With the introduction of a full range of vehicles, we are now capable of challenging the market, which has long been dominated by foreign brands," he said.

After the introduction of GM8 in December last year, the company has completed its current high-end lineup of sedans, SUVs and MPVs in the market.

"A new era of promoting a high-end vehicle brand in the domestic and international markets has started," Yu said at the company meeting. "With introduction of the GA8, GS8 and GM8 to the market, GAC Motor has consolidated its position as a carmaker of high-end vehicles," Yu added.

"Star models including the GA8, GS8 and GM8, along with other high-end varieties, will meet the demand for high-end homegrown vehicles from domestic consumers."

The company is set to unveil a further four new models in 2018, with vehicle sales targeted at 700,000, according to Yu.

The GAC Motor brand as a leading homegrown vehicle manufacturer was greatly strengthened in 2017, following the company's presence at major domestic and international events.

GAC Motor became the only Chinese carmaker to sponsor the annual Spring Festival gala on CCTV, which is the most-watched television event in China each year.

The company also supplied 380 vehicles as the official car of the Fortune Global Forum, an event which attracted the world's most influential business leaders, which was held in Guangzhou in December.

Its GS8 scored a five-star rating in the C-NCAP (China-New Car Assessment Program) in early July with a score of 57.7; and its GS3 followed suit in December, winning the gold medal of C-ECAP (China Eco-Car Assessment Program).

Earlier this year, GAC Motor won the quality award from the provincial government of Guangdong, entering the list of the province's 10 enterprises that have triumphed with the highest quality award the Guangdong government has ever set for enterprises in the province.

The GS4 ranks first among Chinese SUVs, according to JD Power Asia Pacific's 2017 China Initial Quality Study, which was released in late September last year.

GAC Motor retained its position as the highest ranking Chinese brand in the study for the fifth consecutive year.

Strong market presence

To expand its presence in the domestic market, GAC Motor has started construction of a major manufacturing base in Yichang in Hubei province, as well as another in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Additionally, construction of the first phase of the company's Xinjiang-based production line has been completed.

"Expanding the production capacity will help boost our presence in the market, as domestic consumers have developed growing demand for high-end homegrown vehicles," Yu said.

In the domestic market, GAC Motor has established seven sales centers in the central, northern, northeastern, southwestern, southern, northwestern and eastern areas of China as of the end of 2017.

"The sales centers across the country have helped to greatly boost our presence among homegrown vehicles," said Yu.

Outside China, the company has so far launched sales and after-sales networks in 14 countries and regions, with key markets in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa.

GAC Motor has also vowed to enter the North American market no later than in 2019, with its research and development center already in position in Silicon Valley.

In its latest move, the company donated vehicles to a tourism-related company in Cuba in January, as part of the broad economic and commercial cooperation between China and Cuba.

The 90 cars delivered by GAC Motor include 60 luxury GA8 sedans and 30 GS4 SUVs. GAC Motor's sales target for 2020 is set at 1 million units, according to the company.

Yu said the company will continue to capitalize on its domestic market advantage, and aim to compete more strongly on the international stage.

"We are building a world-class Chinese homegrown vehicle manufacturer and a global production, sales and research system," Yu said.

Senior GAC executives pose with a GM8 car at the 2017 Guangzhou Auto Show. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]