The company says it will introduce its Hover 5 SUV, Wingle pickup and Ling'ao small car in those new markets.

"We expect to start selling the vehicles in U.K. and two to three Northern European countries such as Sweden and Norway," said Zhang Gengshen, a manager with Great Wall's marketing department in charge of overseas markets.

All three models are gasoline-powered. Both the Hover 5 and the Wingle pickup are fitted with a 2.4-liter Mitsubishi 4G69 gasoline engine. The Ling'ao is a hatchback with a 1.5-liter VVT engine developed by Great Wall itself, according to Zhang.

Zhang did not indicate who will distribute Great Wall vehicles in Europe. But late last year, the British distributor I.M. Group said in a statement that it planned to import Great Wall's vehicles into the United Kingdom, Ireland and Scandinavia starting in 2011.

By China's standards, Great Wall is of modest size. In the first four months of this year, Great Wall sold 79,090 vehicles worldwide, up 114 percent, according to Automotive Resources Asia, a unit of J.D. Power and Associates. But that was still only a fraction of the sales reported by larger domestic rivals such as BYD, Geely or Chery.

Despite its modest size, Great Wall has pursued an aggressive export strategy. Great Wall started exporting its pickups and SUVs in the late 1990s. 

Last year, the company exported 35,000 vehicles in 2009; roughly half were Wingle pickups. In 2010, Great Wall aims to export 60,000 units, said Zhang. 

The company was one of the first Chinese automakers to export vehicles to Europe, introducing a small van in 2006. While the company now exports vehicles to 60 countries in the Middle East, Africa, Australia and Southeast Asia, sales in Europe have been slow.

Currently, Italy is its only European market that sells the Hover 5 and Wingle. The Turin-based IFAS Group sells Great Wall's vehicles in its Italian dealerships.

This year, Great Wall expects to sell 2,000 Hover 5s and 1,500 Wingles in Italy this year.

Last summer, the European Union certified Great Wall's Florid and Coolbear sedans, plus the Hover 5 and Wingle. The company plans to start assembling the four vehicles in Bulgaria for the European market in 2011.