(Yicai Global) Jan. 15 -- Chinese largest sports utility brand Havel aims to enter the US and Germany markets by 2021, according to a company insider.

"The company will boost overseas research and development and take part in the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show along with other international media activities", said a senior manager at Great Wall Motor, which runs the brand, adding that this will pave the way for Haval to enter the German and the North American markets in 2021.

Great Wall Motor aims to boost exports of its Haval brand from 2 percent of total output to 20 percent.

Haval aims to tap the global market to counteract increasingly fierce competition in China, Great Wall Motor Chairman Wei Jianjun said at an event to mark the 5 millionth sale of Haval SUVs on Jan. 13. The brand has topped China's SUV sales rankings for 16 straight years though exports remain nominal.

Great Wall Motor's overseas market revenue was CNY1.5 billion (USD 221.7 million) in the first half of last year, accounting for only 3 percent of total revenue as it sold 13,760 Haval vehicles.

The Chinese carmaker is increasing its efforts to expand abroad. It has three overseas semi-knockdown plants in Malaysia, Ecuador and Iran, and the Tula factory in Russia will be completed in the first quarter of this year. The Tula facility is the company's first wholly-owned and full-process overseas plant, of which the first phase project is capable of producing 80,000 vehicles annually and the second phase, 150,000 units. The Russian plant will expand the Haval sales in Russia and can reach the Eastern European market.

South Africa, with sales of CNY330 million (USD48.8 million), ranked top in terms of the company's overseas sales, according to the company's interim report for the first half. Great Wall sold 2,557 vehicles in the country last year.

Great Wall Motor has set up R&D centers in US and Germany, and has opened a joint venture with BMW's MINI in China. It plans to invest over CNY30 billion in R&D on the brand over the next five years to reach the goal.