GWM plotting a trio of budget EVs for Australia

GWM (formerly known as Great Wall Motors) is planning to offer a trio of electric vehicles in Australia by late 2022, priced from as low as $35,000.

China’s largest SUV and pick-up manufacturer hopes to use the Ora EV brand to launch its electric-car assault in Australia – as it did in China in 2018 – and there are three EVs on its radar locally.

The Ora Good Cat, also known as the Ora Hao Mao (pictured here in pink), is an entry-level compact hatch that could be priced from under $35,000 here, where it would be positioned below the bigger and sportier Ora Lightning Cat liftback (pictured here in silver).

“We are seriously looking at bringing the Ora brand to Australia,” GWM Australia’s head of marketing and communications, Steve Maciver, told carsales.

“There’s a couple of cars we are looking at and probably most likely is the Good Cat. It’s already on sale… for less than the equivalent $35,000 Australian dollars in China today.

“There may be a chance to bring that car to Australia at a pretty attractive price, and that’s what we’re trying to do but we’re still working on it,” he said.

The Ora Good Cat, is a five-door compact hatchback based on GWM’s LEMON EV platform and features all the mod-cons you’d expect of any modern vehicle, including wireless phone charging, twin digital screens and even heated and massaging front seats.

An electric motor (107kW/210Nm) powers the front wheels, propelling the vehicle to a top speed of 150km/h, and two battery sizes offering two driving ranges are available in China: 47.8kWh/400km and 59.1kWh/500km, which is very competitive.

“The other car we’re looking at is the Lightning Cat. It was a concept unveiled at the [2021] Shanghai motor show and it’s very close to being production-ready,” said Maciver.

“And again, we’ve been asked by the factory if this is something we would consider.”

A third EV, the Ora Punk Cat, which bears a strong resemblance to the classic Volkswagen Beetle, is also under consideration for local release by GWM Australia.

Dog lovers needn’t worry about all the cat-cars, however, because GWM sister brand Haval looks set to launch the Big Dog SUV to Australia as well.

And GWM Australia appears likely to add a fourth brand Down Under in the form of the heavy-duty Tank off-road SUV, which would join the expanding GWM Ute family, the Haval SUV range and the Ora EV line-up.

While the timing for the arrival of Ora EVs in Australia is still unknown, Maciver said: “It’s not going to happen in the next 12 months, but it could be 12 to 24 months away.

“It’s under serious consideration so it could be late 2022, or early 2023,” he added.

GWM and Haval Australia plans to triple its local sales this year and, with all four brands combined, hopes to become a top-10 automotive player Down Under within two to three years.

But GWM isn’t the only Chinese brand set to charge into the Aussie market with budget EVs: BYD says it will launch a range of ultra-cheap electric vehicles later this year and Nio is also understood to be eyeing off the Australian market, which is regarded as a strategic test bed for Asian car-makers.

GWM Australia’s marketing chief says new state government incentives for EVs in NSW and Victoria would help the local business case for EVs and “…might bring them forward for us”.

“EVs are showing signs of becoming more popular fairly quickly,” said Maciver.

“I think government incentives are certainly helping. Other weigh-ins, like competitors bringing in more model options, is certainly making it more appealing in terms of choice.

“And we think now is the right time for us to start looking at that more seriously,” said Maciver.