GAC looks to carve a global niche

Automaker planning US market entry in 2020 to further consolidate footprint

Guangzhou Automobile Group Co is poised to enter the United States auto market, setting its sights on becoming a truly global brand, according to the carmaker's president.

The company's innovative US product lineup will help to defy the odds and herald its emergence as a global enterprise, said Yu Jun, president of GAC.

"By entering the United States, we can, on the one hand examine our own capabilities and continue to challenge ourselves to strive for even better products. Eventually we hope to gain a foothold in the US market and bring our top-quality products to US customers. That will help us to expand further into other regions around the world," he said.

The automaker showcased its brand-new electric vehicle, the Entranze EV, at the Detroit Auto Show on Monday.

The futuristic-looking sleek, gray vehicle with a glass roof offers the US market a family car, and has been dubbed the "ultimate road trip vehicle".

But, GAC was forced to delay its entrance into the US market in 2019 due to the trade tariffs slapped on China by the US government.

During a news conference at the Detroit Auto Show, Yu told the media that the company had faced an "uphill battle". The carmaker now aims to enter the US market in 2020.

"We have overcome so many difficulties already. So GAC Motor is a company that dares to dream and that dares to forge ahead," Yu said.

"We hope that ... we can showcase our high-quality products and raise awareness among our US consumers."

GAC first decided to enter the US market in 2015. It now has three US-based design studios in Detroit, Silicon Valley and Los Angeles. Its Entranze SUV was designed in Los Angeles.

Wang Qiujing, GAC's research and development center president, said the Entranze would begin production in the second half of 2019.

The automaker also plans to introduce further electric vehicles in 2019 and aims to have an entirely electric fleet by 2025.

"All of our models will incorporate electrification technology by 2025," according to Yu.

In another step forward, the company moved into Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates last year. It will launch sales in Russia in September.

GAC operates in 16 countries and sold 535,000 cars globally in 2018, a 5.23 percent increase on 2017.

Its other luxury cars include the GS8 SUV, GM8 minivan and GS4.