Great Wall Motor has brought back its factory rally raid division after a decade away from the sport, and is set to debut at the Taklimakan Rally in May. Multiple of its brands will take part including Tank and Haval, which are expected to compete in the T2 class.

GWM is a Chinese SUV and pickup manufacturer that has been in operation since 1984. It made its Dakar Rally debut in 2010 with the Haval SUV, which Zhou Yong drove to a 33rd-place finish. The program expanded to three cars the following year, Zhou once again leading the way with a 22nd overall.

Havals eventually became top-ten contenders by 2012 when Carlos Sousa recorded back-to-back sixths. Christian Lavieille placed eighth in the 2014 race.

In 2015, Wei Han won the Taklimakan Rally in a Haval. That would be the final year in which GWM provided factory support, with later entries being mainly privateers or receiving limited backing from dealers.

Great Wall Motors cars have also appeared in races like the Silk Way Rally. The 2024 SWR saw four Tank 300s finish top five in the Grand Tour class led by Dmitry Fedorov.

Details like a driver roster for Taklimakan have not been confirmed, though Tank’s racing director teased the possibility of a surprise face. Some have speculated Wei would return to GWM; he won the 2024 Taklimakan Rally in a Red-Lined REVO before racing the 2025 Dakar Rally in a prototype he built in partnership with Red-Lined Motorsport.

The 2025 Taklimakan Rally will run from May 20 to June 1.

Featured image credit: Great Wall Motor