Landwind set to appoint Spirit to handle 20m ad account

Landwind, the Chinese car brand launching in Europe this year, is poised to appoint Spirit Advertising to handle its £20m advertising account after a protracted pitch.

Media Planning Group, which pitched with Spirit, is thought to be in line to pick up the company’s media planning and buying business.

The two agencies competed against an undisclosed advertising and media agency team in a final round of pitches at the end of last year. The car manufacturer originally began talking to agencies in February last year.

Landwind will be the first Chinese car brand to go on sale in Europe when it launches later this year. It is thought the vehicles will initially be available in mainland Europe, before coming to the UK.

The company, whose headquarters are in Belgium, was until recently headed by former Kia UK managing director Paul Williams, who has just left to spearhead the relaunch of SsangYong in the UK.

Landwind tried to launch in continental Europe in 2005, but its vehicles did not pass all of the relevant safety tests.

However, it received safety approval for two of its models in October last year and it is thought that it is waiting on the outcome of one final test at the end of January before its cars go on sale.

The Expedition 4×4 is expected to be priced at about £13,000, while the Fashion mini-MPV will cost £9,000.

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