‘Bahrain' forms a strategic growth market in GCC for China's luxury car giant GAC Motor

Company to launch GS4 SUV with Tasheelat Automotive Company in Bahrain in the second week of December

Dubai, December 8th, 2016: GAC MOTOR, one China’s leading automobile giants, is aiming to grow its market share in Bahrain with the introduction of indigenously developed GS4, its flagship SUV model. The company will launch the vehicle GS4 in the second week of December for Bahrain’s car enthusiasts. Tasheelat Automotive Company S.P.C., a subsidiary of Bahrain Commercial Facilities Company, is the sole distributor for GAC Motor in Bahrain. The GS4, is born out of GAC Motor’s latest research and development (R&D) achievements, international safety standards and is embedded with the strictest quality specifications.

GS4 aims to go beyond the average car buyer’s expectations with regard to an SUV. The company’s aggressive international branding strategy began by sponsoring the Hollywood blockbuster The Transformers: Age of Extinction in 2014.

"Bahrain is one of our strategic growth markets in GCC and the Middle East region.  Cars under the GAC Motor’s brand have come to the market after having spent a considerable amount of man hours in our R&D centre.  We are here in Bahrain to create a niche for our brand and stay a notch above the current industry best practices to stay ahead in the race. We are delighted to unveil our technologically advanced masterpiece to the discerning consumers in the Bahrain,” said Yu Jun, General Manager of GAC Trumpchi, GAC Motor.

GAC Motor is a wholly owned brand of GAC Group. The Group’s current investment in the automobile sector is up to US$1.6 billion, and future investment will be to the tune of US$5.4 billion. GAC Motor is very young, but the fastest developing brand in China. According to the China Initial Quality Study conducted by J.D. Power, GAC Motor has remained to be China’s No. 1 brand for three consecutive years.

GAC Motor aims to achieve the production capacity of 500,000 in 2017 due to the exponential growth in demand from across various markets. Since GAC Motor was launched in December 2010, they have built several models till now: GA5, GS  5, GS5 Super, GA6, GA3S and GS4, and has sold over 400,000 units.

“We are here to cater to the mass market's need for good quality SUV’s at a competitive price. There is a huge demand in that category and we are closely monitoring this segment and will soon lead this place in the near future. Our safety and stringent manufacturing standards makes us the most sought after Chinese car brand across all our markets,” added Jun.

“The SUV market is where GAC Motor has chosen to prove itself to the world, as the firm has already moved beyond its home market. SUVs are witnessing robust growth in emerging markets and especially in the Middle East region. Physically and technically the GS4 is, in all respects is very much a created-in-China, designed-in-China and made-in-China model - in all respects a ‘Chinese-proprietary’ model. As GAC’s first compact urban SUV, the GS4 is the company’s chief product for expanding its SUV market share and increasing its SUV portfolio,” added Jun.

The GS4 is built on GAC’s brand-new Platform-A. The design of the vehicle’s exterior is a perfect interpretation of the firm’s world-leading molding and designing aesthetics and is based on a design program, Light and Shadow Sculpture 2.0, which highlights GS4’s streamlined body and high-end quality. Differing from Japanese compact and lightweight cars, the GS4 exudes a feeling of gravitas and of power normally associated with European models.

“Safety is at the heart of the GS4 architecture. Each GS4 SUV comes installed with the firm’s patented ‘GAC safe body structure’ and the new generation Electronic Stability Program. As China’s new and only member of the five-star safety family, the GS4 will provide consumers with comprehensive safety protection which is superior to that of other vehicles in the same class.

The rollout of the model also confirms that the development of Chinese proprietary brands, represented by GAC, is paving the way for China’s carmakers to join the league of international brands and to win the respect of the market through proprietary core technologies. GAC Motor made its global strategies public at the beginning of 2014, which was to first tap the markets in the Middle East, Africa, South America, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and then to expand into the established markets such as North America and Europe.

"We are here to further build our brand recognition and be a name that is synonymous in the minds of the car enthusiasts in Bahrain. We are keen to grow our presence in the Middle East and Bahrain serves as the right platform to achieve these objectives.  We welcome you to the Tasheelat showrooms and test drive our cars and get a feel for yourself and a better understanding of our technological prowess,” concluded Jun.