Great Wall utes even cheaper

Great Wall’s V series was already Australia’s cheapest ute and now the importer of ‘The Great Ute of China’ has slashed another $2000 from the price of all dual-cabs.

While the single-cab V240 4x2 petrol remains priced at $17,990 drive-away and the V240 4WD and diesel V200 4WD still cost $20,990 and $22,990 drive-away respectively, the dual-cab price cut comes in the form of a $2000 manufacturer’s bonus until June 30.

Effectively, that means the V240 petrol 4x2 dual-cab can now be had on the road for $20,990, while the V200 diesel 4x2 dual-cab now costs $22,990 drive-away.

The same savings apply to V series 4x4 dual-cabs, which now open at $23,990 drive-away for the 2.4-litre petrol four and $25,990 drive-away for 2.0-litre turbo-diesel versions.

The next most affordable ute available in Australia is the Mahindra Pik-Up, at $20,999 drive-away for the single-cab ($21,999 with tray) and $26,999 drive-away for the twin-cab.

Despite their rock-bottom pricing, all Great Wall V series utes continue to come standard with a tray, leather trimmed seats, alloy wheels, air-conditioning, steering wheel controls, power windows/mirrors and a CD/MP3 player.

They also offer a 1000kg payload and 2000kg braked towing capacity, but only rudimentary safety features including twin front airbags.

The V series has been the subject of three safety recalls since it was introduced here in June 2009, most recently to replace gaskets containing asbestos in 2012.

Great Wall also replaced the seatbelts in the V240 after an early 4x2 dual-cab famously scored a lowly two-star ANCAP crash test rating in late 2009.

Australian distributor Ateco Automotive says the latest price cut is part of its ongoing celebration of selling over 30,000 V series utes in less than four years, however, the Chinese-built commercials have suffered a sharp plunge in sales this year.

Last year sales of the new V200 diesel increased by 130 per cent (4x2) and 480 per cent (4x4), while V240 petrol versions declined in popularity by 28 per cent (4x2) and 56 per cent (4x4).

To March this year, however, V200 sales are down 43 per cent (4x2) and 35 per cent (4x4), while V240 sales have slumped a further 31 per cent (4x2) and 57 per cent (4x4).

Combined with a 71 per cent slump in X240 SUV sales, Great Wall’s total sales are down 36 per cent so far in 2013.

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