Shanghai (ZXZC)- Great Wall Motor (GWM), China's biggest SUV and pickup manufacturer, announced its vehicle sales in March dropped 41.75% year on year to 60,048 units, while rose precipitously 671% from February. Meanwhile, export volume edged up 0.39% from a year ago to 5,942 units.

For the first three months, the automaker sold a total of 150,332 new vehicles with its decrease in year-to-date sales shrinking to 47.04% from 50.05% for Jan.-Feb. period.

The mainstay SUV brand Haval sold 40,337 vehicles in March, representing a vigorous growth from the virus-hit February. The sales for the first quarter amounted to 106,205 units with a year-over-year decline of 48.45%.

Most Haval-branded models were still mired in downturn compared to the prior-year period. There was an exception. The sales volume of the Haval H9 jumped 29.71% and 18.2% for March and the first quarter respectively.

WEY, the SUV brand embodying GWM's ambition to move upscale, saw its Jan.-Mar. sales reach 9,901 units (-62.8%). As the first China-born premium brand whose cumulative outputs exceeded 300,000 units, WEY competes head-on with some joint-venture brand with its average unit price topping RMB160,000.

With 15,354 units sold in total, GWM's pickup products accounted for nearly 50% of China's pickup sales in March. Regarding the number of pickups handed over to consumers, the automaker obtained year-on-year growth in 27 provinces across China in March.

The EV-focused ORA sold 2,703 R1s and iQs through March. GWM said NEVs and high-efficiency fuel-powered vehicles took up 69% of the company's sales, and over 45% hotter-selling models have been fitted with Level 2 autonomous driving technology, displaying GWM's resolution in pushing ahead with electrification and automobile intelligence (photo source: Great Wall Motor's WeChat account).