GAC to Flex its R&D Muscles in Detroit With Revealing of WITSTAR

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GUANGZHOU, China, Jan. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- GAC Group's iconic concept car WITSTAR, expected to be revealed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, will bring the Chinese auto conglomerate's research and development unit into the light.

The concept car, based on a marriage between electrical vehicle and digital technologies, is in line with the future direction of the global auto industry. And as GAC lifts the veil of secrecy surrounding the car during the high-profile auto show that starts on January 12, 2015, it also plans to exhibit its plucky motto – making smart and environment-friendly cars for the human being through constant innovations.

WITSTAR, powered by range-extended power-train system, can achieve round-the-clock automatic driving. Its range could top 380 miles with fuel efficiency of greater than 110 miles per gallon. The car's maximum speed could reach 100 mph.

"Developing the next generation of vehicles with advanced automobile and digital technologies is of a far-reaching significance to the society," said Wu Song, general manager GAC Group's subsidiary of passenger cars. "We will continue to develop alternative energy vehicles with massive investments to benefit human beings."

GAC Engineering, the core of GAC Group's development system, was established in 2006. It attracted top talents and set up world-class facilities, responsible for the Group's strategic planning, new product developments and implementation of new technologies.

The R&D subsidiary has already become an envy of GAC's Chinese counterparts after it won numerous awards and successfully designed excellent cars one after another.

The entire production line from GAC Motor scored five-star in C-NCAP Crash Assessment, the only Chinese branch that recorded the achievement.

According to JD Power, GAC Motor was ranked the 14^th in terms of quality among all the vehicles on the Chinese market and topped all other Chinese own-brand competitors for two consecutive years between 2013 and 2014.

The JD Power car quality reports show that new car quality of GAC Motor is far better than the industry average. The brand even surpassed some established foreign brands in terms of quality, which included Volkswagen, Ford, General Motors and Nissan.

GAC Motor also won the China Auto Industry Award, known as the Xuanyuan Award, in January, 2014, beating BMW3, GM LaCrosse and Ford new Mondeo.

GAC Motor was picked as the award winner in recognition of "building up internationally competitive know-how and delivering first-class excellence," according to the jury.

GAC Group's efforts to develop the country's high-quality own-brand cars paid off last year when it won the top prize of 2014 China Science and Technology in Automobile Industry.

The laudatory performance by GS5 sport-utility vehicle during The 2014 Great Tour from China to France between September and October added luster to GAC's own-brand cars.

GS5, selected for this cultural expedition, safeguarded the envoys to pass through more than 30 cities across the Eurasian landmass without a single technical glitch taking place. At the ceremony held under the Eiffel Tower, the envoys popped out Champagne to celebrate their success and give credit to GAC Motor for manufacturing such a great car for Chinese people.

GAC Motor plans to launch more than 20 new models in the next five years including luxury cars, compact SUVs and seven-seat multi-purpose vehicles to reinforce the Group's long-term internationalization strategy.

"Our own-brand cars have been increasingly endorsed by domestic and foreign customers, and we will grow on a fast track in the coming years to meet the increasing demand for high-performance own-brand vehicles," said Wu. "We are highly confident that GAC's own-brand vehicles will be able to compete against big-name rivals worldwide."

GAC Motor now has an annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles for its own brands and is expected to deliver 1 million vehicles in 2020.

As the GAC Group deepened its cooperation with big-name foreign brands, GAC quickened the process of assimilating and digesting the advanced technologies. After revealing WITSTAR on the Detroit show, GAC will continue to strengthen its R&D capabilities in the alternative energy car segment.

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SOURCE GAC MOTOR