(Yicai) May 10 -- Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motor, which used to rely on dealers wholly to sell its vehicles, has tapped into the direct sales model to tackle the fierce competition in the Chinese automotive market.

From this month, Great Wall will adopt a dual sales system, as its direct sales brand Great Wall Intelligence opened 33 stores in 19 Chinese cities, including first-tier ones, Yicai learned. By the end of the second quarter and this year, Great Wall Intelligence will directly operate 100 and 200 stores, respectively.

Great Wall Intelligence’s network consists of retail, pick-up, and user centers, Li Ruifeng, Great Wall’s chief growth officer, told Yicai. It has completed the product training of about 600 specialists for its direct stores, Li added.

Great Wall’s direct sales model does not only include building brick-and-mortar direct sales stores but also bringing changes to the firm’s future business and management policies, Li noted.

Direct retail centers are expected to accumulate more experience in the transition of sales models, as Great Wall Motor will discuss with its dealers a new cooperation pattern based on that experience.

“Great Wall hopes to provide services along the whole service chain, from test drive, pick-up, and after-sales repair, via its Great Wall Intelligence brand,” Li pointed out.

Six vehicle models under the Tank and Wey brands are on sale at Great Wall’s direct sales stores at the moment. They are all high-end vehicles with much higher prices than other Great Wall products, Feng Fuzhi, head of Great Wall Intelligence, told Yicai. This way, Great Wall will increase its sales and improve its brand awareness and capability of serving consumers.

However, competition and conflict of interest between the direct sales channel and dealers are unavoidable. If they are not properly addressed, they may cause issues, such as the failure of the direct sales model.

The main reason why Great Wall Motor started directly selling its cars is to enhance its brand image, so it will intervene to balance the interest between direct sales and dealers if their competition is too intense, said Mu Feng, president of Great Wall.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione