BEIJING -- Chinese SUV maker Great Wall Motor Co. is speeding up new product launches to meet the potential domestic market demand for smaller SUVs.

 

Great Wall plans to launch 10 vehicles including five SUVs, two pickups and three cars in 2009, says Shang Yugui, spokesman of the company.

 

Three of the five SUVs will be fitted with engines of below 1.5 liters in displacement, says Shang.

 

A 2.0-liter gasoline version will be added to its Hover SUV series products, says another source with Great Wall. The Hover SUV has a 2.4-liter gasoline version as well as the 2.8- and 2.5-liter diesel versions.

 

Sales of the Hover SUV were 51,918 in the first 11 months of 2008, second to Honda's CR-V in the Chinese SUV market, according to Automotive Resources Asia, a unit of J.D. Power and Associates.

 

The three new cars will be fitted with engines smaller than 1.5 liters and the two pickups will have engines smaller than 2.5 liters, says Shang.

 

Shang says the government is considering cutting vehicle purchase taxes. Lower vehicle purchase taxes should enable Great Wall to sell more small displacement vehicles, he adds.

 

To boost vehicle sales, the Chinese government is likely to reduce purchase taxes in the first half of 2009, according to industry sources. Under the new tax regime, taxes on small cars are predicted to be lower than big ones.

 

"The new vehicles will go on sale one after another starting from March," Shang says.

 

Great Wall will work harder to explore the second and third tier domestic cities this year, says Shang. He predicts the number of its dealerships in China will increase to 550 later this year from currently 450.

 

Sales of Great Wall were about 125,000 units in 2008, according to Shang. The company sold 116,126 vehicles in 2007.