China has entered a hot spell this month, with temperatures expected to exceed 35 degrees Celsius in nearly 20 regions today. It's not clear if other local car makers' factories have also been affected.

Great Wall Motor's premium brand Tank is shutting down three factories until the end of July for maintenance to ensure they can operate safely in hot weather.

“In this summer season, temperatures continue to climb. In order to ensure production safety and stable operation of the equipment, (we) plan to conduct safety inspection and maintenance work on the equipment at Tank's factories in late July 2024,” the Tank brand said in a temporary production halft statement yesterday.

The schedule for Tank's plant maintenance is as follows:

Tank's Chongqing plant will be under maintenance from July 23-31, which will affect Tank 300 production.

Tank's factory in Xushui, Baoding, Hebei province, will be undergoing maintenance from July 24-31, which will affect Tank 700 production.

Tank's plant in Jingmen, Hubei province, will be under maintenance during July 25-31, which will affect the production of Tank 400 and Tank 500.

“The production halt will cause some inconvenience to the deliveries of some Tank models, and we would like to apologize for that,” Tank's statement reads.

Tank promises to do its best to minimize maintenance time and resume production as soon as possible.

Tank is Great Wall Motor's brand aimed at the premium SUV (sport utility vehicle) market, with initial models on sale being the Tank 300 and Tank 500, both of which were available only in versions powered entirely by internal combustion engines at launch.

In the last two years Tank has pursued its electrification transition with the introduction of hybrid models including the Tank 300 Hi4-T,  Tank 400 Hi4-T, Tank 500 Hi4-T and Tank 700 Hi4-T.

In June, Tank sold a record 26,059 vehicles, up 104.02 percent year-on-year and up 28.21 percent from May, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.

In the first half of the year, the Tank brand sold 116,038 vehicles, up 98.94 percent year-on-year, contributing 20.7 percent of Great Wall Motor's sales of 559,669 vehicles in the same period.

China has been experiencing high temperatures this month, and it's not clear if other local automakers' factories have been similarly affected. Apart from the Tank brand, Great Wall Motor's other brands have yet to announce plans to halt production.

Nearly 20 regions, including Chongqing, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Shanghai, are expected to experience high temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius on July 17, according to a yellow warning issued by the China Meteorological Administration at 6 pm Beijing time today.

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