IM Group has appointed 30 dealers to represent Chinese franchise Great Wall ready for the March plate change.

A spokesman from UK importers IM Group told AM the network would grow to 40 dealers by the end of the Q1.

The brand will launch with the Steed pick-up and its now the only confirmed model in the brand's UK line-up. Great Wall was planning to bring its C1 supermini to the UK but expansions to the model range won’t happen until 2013.

A Great Wall spokesman said: "Cars are just starting to come to the UK and dealer demonstrators will be in place before the end of February."

The spokesman told AM that only "half a dozen" of the new Great Wall dealers will be ex-Daihatsu.

Great Wall will be revealing more information about its plans to launch in the UK at the end of February.