Great Wall Motor, a mainland auto manufacturer that trades its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, said it plans to export 15,000 vehicles this year. That will account for 25 percent of its estimated yearly output.

Great Wall Motor aims to export a higher portion of its output in the coming two to three years.

"Our long-term objective is to raise the overseas sales to half of the total sales," company Chairman Wei Jianjun said in a statement.

The auto-maker had exported 10,162 vehicles in the first nine months of the year, reflecting a jump of 335 percent year-on-year.

A spokesman for the company, who preferred to remain anonymous, said all of the exported vehicles are of their own brand and self-developed.

The exported vehicles, among which pick-up trucks were the best seller, were mainly sold to countries in the Middle East, Africa, Russia and Eastern Europe, whose economies are relatively weak in auto manufacturing.

The Hebei-based company, however, has said it will tap developed marketplaces such as US and Western Europe "sooner or later", though no timetable for this was disclosed.

It will also target former Commonwealth countries and regions by producing right-hand drive vehicles, said Wei.

Great Wall Motor, which mainly produces pick-up trucks and SUVs (sport utility vehicles), began to export a few years ago. The company has set up exhibition halls and repairing service centers in over 50 overseas countries and regions, aiming at further strengthening the relationship with its overseas customers.

During the six months ended June 30, the company's overseas sales revenue amounted to 251 million yuan (US$31 million), representing an increase of 445 percent on a yearly basis.

This came as its turnover declined 14 percent to 1.6 billion yuan (US$200 million) during the same period.

A number of Chinese car-makers such as Geely and Chery have opted to penetrate overseas markets, as the domestic market has experienced sales slowdowns and price wars since the beginning of this year.

(China Daily October 20, 2005)