OREANDA-NEWS. January 28, 2013. On January 19, the “2012 CCTV China Annual Auto Award Ceremony” took place at the Olympic Sports Center in Beijing. GWM’s Haval H6 (1.5T) stood out in the SUV category and grabbed the title of “2012 CCTV SUV”. According to sources, this was also the first time that the Haval H6’s has been considered for the award with its new design. The Haval H6 is a new model this year, and its engine has been replaced by an independent 1.5T engine. 2012 marks the second time that the Haval has been recognized by CCTV, the model won the “2011 CCTV Independent SUV” award last year.

 The “CCTV Annual Models” award was organized by CCTV and co-organized by the China Automotive Technology & Research Center. Many domestic auto authorities, opinion leaders from the auto media, and industry representatives were invited to make up an authoritative judge panel. They then carried out actual tests and voted on the candidate models. This was how they arrived at the winners list. These winners can be considered China’s most credible, authoritative, and popular auto selections. There have been eight editions of the event since its launch in 2005. The awards have produced a strong social impact within the auto industry and in the auto consumption field. They have also become an important reference for car buyers. The winning models from each year tend to be viewed as potential best-sellers the following year. During the 2012 edition, the Haval H6 weathered rigorous testing from all judges and outperformed opponents, eventually garnering the title of “2012 CCTV SUV”.

 As a senior judge at several editions of the event, Lan He, a renowned auto evaluation expert and the editor in chief of Car's Wisdom, spoke highly of the model,"The Haval H6 won the award without any controversy. It excelled in the performance indicators from actual tests and with its exterior fashion. Remarkably, the 1.5T independent engine has substantially reduced the SUV's highly-criticized fuel consumption. The Haval’s constant improvements over the years have filled us with hope for future independent brand development."

 "The Haval SUV claimed China's SUV sales title for the 10th consecutive year in 2012. This was only 10 years since GWM entered the SUV field", GWM President Wang Fengying said with the trophy in hand. He later added that GWM intends to release the Haval brand independently during the first half of 2013, and that the market inventory of Haval SUVs is about to exceed 1 million units. This implies that 2013 will mark the first year for the Haval SUV brand. The Haval will become the third professional SUV brand, following in the tradition of Land Rover and Jeep. GWM will continue to increase investment in SUV R & D through specialized operations. It will also further improve the Haval brand by introducing models like the H8. These plans will help to continuously sharpen the global competitiveness of the Haval brand.

 Despite the overall slowdown in the growth of the Chinese auto market, and the downturn experienced by independent brands in 2012, GWM stood out and maintained its strong momentum. The company sold 620,000 units throughout the year, up 28 percent year on year. This number included 280,000 SUV units, up 71 percent year on year. The company’s star model – the Haval H6 - saw monthly sales of more than 10,000 units in consecutive months, and it retained the national single SUV sales title during the four consecutive months following September. It certainly has become a deserving new SUV leader. In this sense, many industry insiders felt that the Haval H6 was very deserving of the title - "2012 CCTV SUV".

 At the award ceremony, Fu Yuwu, executive vice council chairman and secretary-general of the Society of Automotive Engineers of China, touted the development of Chinese independent brands. He noted that China was changing from a large auto-producing country into an auto power. The country is now rapidly improving its capacity for independent technology innovations. This is the best way forward for the development of Chinese automakers and Chinese auto brands. GWM’s method of working with world-famous technical R & D institutions over the past two years is worth learning from. Furthermore, GWM’s technical progress over the past few years has shown that efforts should be made in terms of innovation modes. This will allow companies to achieve technical globalization, but it is essential to have a say in technology. He hoped GWM would carefully summarize the successful experience of the Haval brand and make more innovations to help shore up China’s auto industry.

 On the same day that the CCTV Annual Auto Award Gala took place, the two-week 2013 Dakar Rally in South America wrapped up. As the only Chinese team representing a Chinese automaker, the Haval Dakar Team made its fourth presence at the world's toughest and most adventurous off-road rally. In the car category, the two racecars finished the rally in 6th and 19th. Despite equaling last year’s overall standings, the results did not come easy - less than 50 percent of Dakar competitors end up finishing the rally. Securing 6th place overall for two consecutive years indicates that the Haval Dakar Team has moved into the field of top contenders long dominated by strong teams like BMW and Volkswagen. The event provided strong support for the continuous enhancement of Haval’s brand influence in both international competitions and the global market.

 The Haval SUV has now been exported to more than 100 countries and regions. These areas include: the EU, Central and South America, other regions like the Middle East, Asia and Africa, and countries like Russia, Australia, Chile and South Africa. Statistical data has shown that the Haval SUV registered record sales of 36,400 units in 2012.

 "GWM's success is attributable to three keywords—‘Focus, Specialization, and Perseverance'. GWM focuses on everything, and the Haval personifies the fruit of GWM’s specialization," noted GWM President Wang Fengying.

 In 2013, GWM will stay focused on the Haval brand. It will also explore segments based on diverse customer demands in order to form a perfect product layout. In March, the 2013 Haval H6 will be launched. It will feature both exterior and interior improvements and come equipped with the ESP system. Additionally, the all-new Haval H6 will be showcased at Auto Shanghai 2013. The Haval H8 is also scheduled to be launched in late 2013, and it represents a new weapon with which Haval can attack the high-end sector - let’s wait and see!