Great Wall Motor (GWM) has shared its vision as one of the leading organizations thriving amidst challenges in the disruptive era by joining the management development program, ‘The Prospect: New World of Higher Education’ hosted by Chulalongkorn Business School for its academic management team (heads of departments). Having presented the topic of ‘Leadership in the Disruptive Era’, GWM,

Great Wall Motor (GWM) has shared its vision as one of the leading organizations thriving amidst challenges in the disruptive era by joining the management development program, ‘The Prospect: New World of Higher Education’ hosted by Chulalongkorn Business School for its academic management team (heads of departments).

Having presented the topic of ‘Leadership in the Disruptive Era’, GWM, shared experiences with the heads of departments from various faculties to further develop their expertise and to pass on to their students, who will play a crucial part in driving the country forward. Participation in the program reinforces the company’s commitment to becoming Thailand’s xEV leader.

The session ‘Leadership in Disruptive Era’ was led by Narong Sritalayon, Managing Director of Great Wall Motor (Thailand), who has been in the automotive industry for more than 25 years. With his breadth of experiences in sales, marketing, aftersales services, network expansion, dealer management, brand management and customer experience, Narong plays a vital role in driving GWM to success as the automotive company that ignited the xEV trend in Thailand’s automotive industry within the first year of its business operations.

Narong Sritalayon, Managing Director of Great Wall Motor (Thailand), said: “As a representative of GWM, I am honored to have received the opportunity from Chulalongkorn University to share with 58 heads of departments from different faculties my experiences in working and driving the organization to rise above the challenges in this era of disruption. We embarked on our journey in Thailand in 2021, which was a challenging time to establish a business, and have driven the brand towards success. The advent of GWM has contributed a milestone in bringing the xEV society in Thailand to another level and in the revolution of the automotive industry resulting from our business strategies focusing on becoming xEV leader, consumers’ voices, and new user experiences. GWM is very pleased to share knowledge and experience that will be beneficial for the university to further develop its expertise and sharpen skills for students who will soon become the key mechanism that creates the xEV ecosystem and contributes to the sustainable growth of Thailand’s electric vehicle industry.”

Under the topic of ‘Leadership in Disruptive Era’, the session highlighted GWM’s achievements in Thailand and as a world-leading organization successfully thriving in the disruptive era since the beginning of its business in China in 1984. For almost 40 years, GWM has constantly stayed committed to delivering products, services, technology, and innovation to its customers. With ten R&D facilities established in seven countries, GWM aims to develop new automotive technology that can be applied to vehicle production, making vehicles safer, more modern and eco-friendly. This will also serve a wide range of consumer needs in terms of battery technology, autonomous driving technology, and future technology such as the hydrogen energy fuel cell.

The lecture also covered four types of Smart Mobility on which automotive brands focus: 1) Connected Products, 2) Autonomous Vehicles, 3) Car/Ride Sharing, and 4) Electrification, to serve the needs of consumers. The session allowed participants to share ideas on various aspects about getting organizations through challenges, especially when all sectors must adapt to the new normal and when technology plays a vital role in changing consumer behavior on areas such as travel, transportation, financial services, information services, and educational challenges, where knowledge and information can be accessed over the internet.

Throughout the past year of its business operations, GWM has faced many challenges ranging from adaptive organization leadership in the era of disruption, challenges as a new player in the market, brand building strategy, and the creation of the EV phenomenon in Thailand via the user-centric approach. GWM also applied multi-faceted strategies focusing on four pillars: Products, Distribution network, Charging stations, and User experiences. Another challenge has been the transformation of the traditional dealership business model to service providers that focuses on providing services to meet customers’ needs through an Online-to-Offline (O2O) approach under the company’s One Price Policy. The session also covered the leadership qualities required for navigating organizations through change and the lessons learned from successful change management, highlighting GWM’s commitment to becoming the xEV leader in Thailand.

Within the first year of business operations in Thailand, GWM has brought excitement to the automotive industry with remarkable sales performance of almost 4,000 vehicles sold, the expansion of its distribution network to 30 locations, over 50,000 active users of the GWM app and the first smart factory in ASEAN located in Rayong province.

In addition, the session covered the success of China’s EV adoption in many aspects including the country’s supportive policy, privileges and attractions, as well as infrastructure development for electric vehicle usage. Similarly, GWM is continuously playing a part in driving EV adoption in Thailand, forming alliances with three electricity authorities to develop G-Charge Supercharging Stations, charging stations at GWM Partner Stores and charging stations developed though collaboration with business partners, following the company’s target of expanding its charging stations to 55 locations by the end of this year.

GWM, as the ‘Global Intelligent Technology Company’, is not only committed to driving Thailand’s technology and electric vehicle industry forward but also focusing on passing on knowledge of technology and innovation in every aspect. By working with partners in various sectors to share knowledge with organizations related to the EV industry, GWM is continuing to complete the xEV ecosystem and contribute to the growth of Thailand’s electric vehicle industry in a sustainable way following Thailand’s long-term economic and social development plans.

Dr Pun-Arj Chairatana, Executive Director of the National Innovation Agency (NIA), Thailand

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