GWM Ora electric SUV wanted

GWM’s Ora electric car brand is currently a one-trick pony in Australia, where it offers just one small electric hatch, but plans are afoot to expand the EV range.

GWM Australia is painfully aware of the Ora EV brand’s limited market presence with just the one model and although it is currently Australia’s cheapest EV, priced from just $35,990 drive-away, the fledgling brand will need an SUV like the BYD Atto 3 to gain a solid foothold here.

“There are a number of new Ora products under consideration and in planning at the moment,” said GWM Australia and New Zealand’s marketing and communications chief, Steve Maciver.

“I’m not in a position to disclose what they might be, but if you look at where the volume opportunity exists, not just in Australia but of course most major markets overseas, mid-size SUVs are an obvious example of that,” he said, confirming the brand’s desire for a model to compete with the likes of the Atto 3 and the top-selling Tesla Model Y.

Right now, there are few options within GWM’s global portfolio that could fill the void. A rebadged version of the Wey 07 luxury SUV (pictured) is one potential solution that carsales briefly drove in China recently.

But given GWM Ora’s ‘value’ positioning in Australia, the Wey 07 would need to be pared back because in China it comes fully loaded with premium features and is pitched as a high-end luxury SUV.

“I can’t be drawn as to what that [a mid-size SUV] would look like in terms of Ora, but if there was an electric SUV opportunity available for us in Australia, it’s certainly something we would welcome and look at,” Maciver told carsales.

The Wey 03 and Wey 05 are slightly smaller electric SUVs and they’re already being readied for sale in Europe. And although GWM has previously put the kybosh on selling Wey-badged vehicles in Australia, it has never ruled out ‘badge engineering’ exercises – Weys with Ora badges.

In China, for example, the Ora Chery Cat prototype electric SUV revealed in 2021 was a cross-pollination of a Wey SUV.

EV sales are plateauing in Australia and declining elsewhere, but demand is still strong for battery-electric vehicles – especially at the top-end of town.

And with at least another dozen or so Chinese auto brands set to launch in Australia this year and next – many of them EV-only – GWM Ora will want to defend its position in the Aussie marketplace.

Sales of the GWM Ora hatch faltered initially, but the sharper sub-$36K drive-away price point has seen sales increase by a whopping 800 per cent so far this year, compared to the same six-month period in 2023.

Another option GWM Australia is set to deploy in order to shore up its EV defences amid the influx of new rivals is an all-electric GWM Cannon ute.

But GWM is unlikely to follow in the footsteps of fellow Chinese brand MG by launching a hero electric sports car like the circa-$130,000, supercar-slaying MG Cyberster.

“Again, never say never, but the focus is on SUVs,” said Maciver.

“Yes, we’ve got the Ora Sport sitting in there as part of the potential EV line-up – a very well-credentialed high-performance car – but we haven’t made a call as to whether that’s right for the Australian market just yet.

“That’s probably the closest we have at this stage in terms of a sports car per se.

“But I think ongoing development and expansion of whether opportunity exists within SUV and utility [segments] is what we’re looking at – that’s the heartland of where GWM sits today.”

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