On January 10, the Financial Associated Press reported (Reporter Xu Hao) whether the Chinese auto market still needs an ultra-luxury brand. Great Wall Motor Chairman Wei Jianjun has his own determination.

"A research and manufacturing listed company located in Peking Yizhuang is looking for a CMO for an ultra-luxury brand." On January 10, an industry insider told the Financial Associated Press that this position requires experience with ultra-luxury brands, including luxury Autos, Huawei, Honor, Xiaomi, and Luxury Goods brands, and it demands strategic awareness, professional concepts, and insights.

This ultra-luxury brand is indeed the "Great Wall Brand Ultra-Luxury Car BG" that was reported by the market the day before. The message also confirms that Wei Jianjun serves as the Chairman of the new brand, with Great Wall Motor's original Vice President of Technology, Song Dongxian, as CEO, and Zhang Xiaobo as CTO. This appointment was announced on January 1, 2025, in a limited scope, marking the 001 appointment of Great Wall Motor in 2025.

Subsequently, Great Wall Motor confirmed the above news to reporters from the Financial Associated Press.

Since the success of the Tank brand, Great Wall Motor has continued to enhance its diversification and personalized models, such as the official launch and delivery of the Soul Motorcycle in 2024. It is understood that the concept behind the new brand is "high quality, small batch," and the research and development process has been personally supervised by Wei Jianjun. The so-called "high quality, small batch" concept means that in product definition, development, manufacturing, and sales, there will be significant differences from mass-produced vehicles.

Currently, the new brand has not revealed its final naming and related product planning; from the organizational appointment naming of "Great Wall Brand Ultra-Luxury Car BG," the new brand is positioned above the current brands of Great Wall Group. In terms of product planning, as early as February 2024, a conceptual image of a model with the code ZX was exposed, intended as a 5.5-meter D+ level luxury sedan, and at that time there was speculation that Great Wall would enter the supercar market. In 2024, Great Wall announced an AR HUD track patent, and recently registered a series of trademarks including Great Wall Jiayu, Great Wall Shanhai, Great Wall Yanmen, and other Great Wall Pass.

In terms of technical reserves, in October 2024, at the Great Wall Autumn Technology Release Conference, Wei Jianjun revealed that in April and May 2025, Great Wall will launch a 4.0 V8 large displacement engine. This engine is prepared for the super off-road platform, and it is highly likely to become one of the core technologies of the new project.

Previously, Great Wall Motor had made various attempts in the high-end and luxury sectors. As a high-end brand, WEY's cumulative sales in 2024 amounted to 54,728 vehicles, which is less than the monthly sales of the new automaker, Ideal Auto.

At the end of 2020, Great Wall Motor launched the luxury brand Salon as a high-end pure electric project, claiming to become the top brand for pure electric vehicles priced at 400,000 to 800,000 yuan in China. According to the plan, the first mass-produced vehicle, Salon MechDragon, was supposed to debut at the 2021 Guangzhou Auto Show; however, subsequent mass production timelines have been repeatedly delayed. After several organizational changes, Salon vehicles gradually disappeared from the market. Originally planned to relaunch the Salon brand in 2024, it ultimately was not able to proceed as intended.

In recent years, many domestic brands have made attempts in the ultra-luxury market. As an old rival, BYD launched the Yangwang brand in 2023, with its first model, the Yangwang U8, hitting the market in September of the same year, followed by the introduction of the supercar models Yangwang U9 and U7 in 2024. However, this brand with prices exceeding one million yuan is now showing signs of decline. The monthly sales of the Yangwang U8 had dropped from over a thousand units to around 300 units, while the Yangwang U9's monthly sales have consistently remained in double digits.

At the same time, China's ultra-luxury automobile market is also shrinking. Among those experiencing significant drops is Maserati, which saw its imported sales in the Chinese market reach only 878 vehicles from January to September 2024, a sharp decline of 79% year-on-year. "The overall sales of ultra-luxury brands are weak, indicating a contraction in consumer demand," said Cui Dongshu, Secretary-General of the Passenger Car Association.

Zhou Hongyi, Chairman of Group 360, who previously sold Maybach and then chose domestic electric vehicles, articulated the direction ultra-luxury brands should strive for today, stating, "Domestic new energy smart connected vehicles will far surpass foreign luxury brands and become the preferred choice for consumers and entrepreneurs. Compared to foreign luxury cars priced at four to five million yuan, domestic new energy vehicles offer a much higher cost-performance ratio in terms of smart connectivity."