China’s Ora EV confirms right-hand drive

Right-hand drive production of Chinese Ora electric vehicles has been confirmed, with Australian arrival still being negotiated.

Ora could join fellow GWM (Great Wall Motors) brands GWM Ute and Haval on sale in Australia as soon next year with a starting price potentially under $35,000.

Ora’s plan for international expansion came into focus at the Munich motor show last week, where a European launch by late 2022, including the right-hand drive UK market, was confirmed.

At the same time GWM also rolled out the Wey crossover brand in Munich, premiering the plug-in hybrid Wey Coffee 01 mid-size SUV, and confirmed it also would be sold in Europe and in RHD.

But there is little interest in Wey at GWM’s Australian division, which not only wants to add Ora but the Tank 4x4 brand as well.

“Wey is not on our radar,” confirmed Haval/GWM Ute Australia marketing chief Steve Maciver.

“We have GWM Ute today and we have Haval SUV. Ora EV is on our radar and Tank luxury SUV sub-brand is the other model series on our radar as well.

“That is probably enough to keep us busy for now. If we end up launching all those models that would end up giving us pretty good coverage.”

In Munich Ora showed a small hatchback called the Cat, which is known in China as the Good Cat.

It sells alongside Black Cat city car, White Cat city car and – just for something different – the iQ crossover compact sedan.

Ora has only been in existence since 2018. It previously revealed the larger Lightning Cat, the Cherry Cat SUV and an obvious tribute to the Volkswagen Beetle, albeit with five doors, called the Punk Cat and Ballet Cat.

“Ora still continues to be very much on the radar and we still continue to work on the business case with head office and as yet no decision has been made,” said Maciver.

“Obviously we’ve seen with great interest the car is going to be launched in Europe late next year and we are still trying to work out exactly what that means for us.

“We are keen, but we don’t have a green light as of yet.”

Maciver said there was no deadline for a decision, describing the timeline as “open-ended”. But he was clear that a turnaround from a green light for the project to vehicle arrival could be relatively short.

“You would think with the brand already established in China establishing it in other regions wouldn’t be too much of a stretch,” he said.

As shown in Munich the Ora Cat powers its front wheels via a single electric motor making 105kW and 210Nm, accelerates from 0-50km/h in 3.8 seconds and has a top speed of 150km/h.

It has a claimed NEDC range of 400km with a 47.8kWh lithium-ion phosphate battery pack or 45.99kWh ternary lithium pack. A 500km range is claimed with a 59.1kWh ternary lithium battery pack.

Also known as Hao Mao in China, it is the first Ora to be built on GWM’s unfortunately named new LEMON (Lightweight, Electrification, Multi-purpose, Omni-protection and Network) architecture. It measures up at 4235mm long, 1825mm wide and 1596mm high.

“The Good Cat is a small city-sized hatch that has some appeal. It’s the right type of car I think,” said Maciver.

“There are a few options on the table and we are considering what may or may not work for us; there’s been a concept unveiled called the Cherry Cat and there’s also a larger sports EV called the Lightning Cat.

“Every product that’s out there right now is under consideration. But whether we bring one in, whether we bring three in, whether we bring none in, that decision hasn’t been made yet.”

Maciver said Ora was of interest to GWM in Australia for ramping local interest in electrification.

“There is no doubt the industry is moving to alternative powertrains,” he said. “We have already announced we are going to have hybrid technology coming in in the Haval brand.

“But if we want to move to EV then Ora is the brand we can do that with, so that gives it appeal.

“The technology itself is pretty good. The range is pretty competitive and there is a growing market here for EV.”