GAC Motor presents SUVs to Olympic legends

Yu Jun (left), general manager of GAC Motor, presents keys of new vehicles as gifts to Fu Haifeng (second left), men's badminton pairs veteran of the Rio Games, and Chen Aisen (third left), men's pairs and individual diving medalist, on Friday. Photos by Qiu Quanlin / China Daily

GAC Motor Ltd, the Chinese carmaker focused on developing homegrown vehicles, gave brand-new SUVs as gifts to four Guangdong-based gold medalists of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games on Friday.

The Guangdong delegation claimed five gold, two silver and 11 bronze medals in the Rio Games.

The gold medalists include Fu Haifeng, men's badminton pairs veteran, Chen Aisen, men's synchronized and individual diving medalist, Liu Shiwen, women's table tennis group winner, and Liu Hong, the women's 20-kilometer race walker.

"We are pleased to send China's best homegrown vehicles to the gold medalists. Their striving spirit is well in accordance with our brand - to do one's best and create legends," said Yu Jun, general manager of GAC Motor.

The vehicles are GAC Motor's latest variety of seven-seat SUV GS8, which will be officially launched for sale in October, according to the company.

The GS8 follows GAC Motor's high-end sedan, the GA8, and is based on its C-class platform. This will help increase efficiency in production models and boost business profits, according to Yu.

"The C-class platform shows the company's capability of making high-end luxury cars - a principle that we are positioned to follow in the automobile industry in the coming years," said Yu.

It was not the first time that GAC Motor has developed links with the Olympic Games. After the 2012 London Games, the company also presented its latest SUV, the GS5, as gifts to Guangdong-based gold medalists.

"By sending vehicles as gifts, we are encouraging Chinese athletes to create more legends in international sports," Yu said.

In the 2010 Asian Games, which was held in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, GAC Motor's first sedan, the GA5, was designated as the guest vehicle for the Asian sports gala.

"By developing links with sporting events, GAC Motor vehicles, under the brand of Trumpchi, have steadily become a household vehicle name, focusing on high quality and safety," said Yu.

Fu Haifeng, who paired with Zhang Nan to win the men's pairs badminton at the Rio Games, said he was pleased to introduce GAC Motor's vehicles to team players.

"Early in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, we tried GAC Motor's cars. They were the pride of homegrown vehicles, as the cars gave us a comfortable and safe driving experience," said Fu.

After trial driving the GS8 on Sept 9, Fu, with diving gold medalist Chen Aisen, also visited the GAC Motor's second assembly line in Guangzhou's Panyu district. The second assembly line, which was put into operation in late July, was highly automation equipped, helping to increase GAC Motor's production capacity to 400,000 vehicles per year.

"Chinese carmakers are capable of producing world-standard, high-end luxury vehicles," said Fu.

GAC Motor, which was founded in 2008, saw its sales increase sharply from 17,000 vehicles in 2011 to 190,000 units in 2015, thanks to years of efforts in creating high-quality and safe vehicles.

qiuquanlin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/14/2016 page14)