SPY PICS: GWM Ora Good Cat spied testing in Australia

Here’s a sight you’re going to find more common on Aussie roads from 2023 – the GWM Ora Good Cat electric hatch.

The cute little Chinese-made EV – spotted completely undisguised in these scoop spy shots – is one of two currently in Melbourne undergoing evaluation ahead of a local launch expected around April 2023.

It could also be the first of two Ora EVs seen in Australia in 2023 as parent GWM Australia considers expanding its electrified line-up to as many as seven in 2023.

With EV pricing steepling, GWM Australia is unlikely to hit its original pricing target of under $40,000. We understand the ambition now is to price the car from below $50,000 before subsidies and rebates are taken into account.

The sighting coincides with the announcement of a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating for the compact electric hatchback in Europe.

It attained an excellent 92 per cent adult occupant protection rating, 83 per cent for child occupant protection, 74 per cent for vulnerable road user protection and 93 per cent for safety assist.

Barring some unforeseen circumstance, it should pick up a five-star rating under the local ANCAP regime as well.

What will change is the name. What is the Ora Good Cat in China (the local test cars have that badge) and Ora Funky Cat in Europe, is expected to become that GWM Ora in Australia.

Whether it will add anything further to that name here – feline or otherwise – is yet to be made clear.

This GWM naming policy is being applied across all Great Wall Motors brands in Australia. So that means the SUV specialist Haval is now GWM Haval, while the GWM ute division has presumably become GWM GWM.

Along with GWM Ora, the GWM Tank 4x4 brand is expected to be added to the GWM line-up in Australia, probably launching in the third quarter of 2023.

The new GWM electrified vehicles coming in 2023 would be a combination of pure battery-electric and hybrids, and could also include plug-in hybrids.

They would join two hybrid GWM Haval SUVs freshly launched in Australia, the compact Jolion HEV and the mid-size H6 HEV.

What we will call the Good Cat – for now – is a five-door front-wheel drive passenger hatch with cute styling lines.

In the UK, a First Edition Funky Cat has gone on sale priced from the equivalent of about $A54,500. It comes with a 126kW/250Nm electric motor driving the front wheels, a 48kWh battery and a claimed WLTP range of 310km.

It’s not yet clear what the second model in the GWM Ora pipeline is for Australia. But it may be significant that when the Funky Cat was first confirmed for Europe (including right-hand drive for the UK) a pre-production version of a sedan now known as the Lightning Cat was on display as well.

A fastback five-door, its styling has been likened to a shrunken Porsche Panamera. Another Ora model with derivative overtones is the Beetle-esque Ballet Cat. The Punk Cat is another model with suggestions of VW Beetle.

When it comes to Tank, GWM Australia is understood to be keenly considering hybrid versions of the compact Tank 300 and 500 as part of the line-up.

The GWM Tank 300 HEV (hybrid) was revealed at the recent Chengdu motor show in China alongside the larger GWM Tank 500 plug-in hybrid.

The 300 HEV is powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol hybrid 4x4 drivetrain that’s more powerful than the 1.5-litre system used by GWM Haval in the Jolion and H6 HEVs.

There is also a plug-in version of the GWM Haval H6 that is understood to be under local consideration.

A hybrid version of the GWM Haval H6 GT fastback is also on sale overseas and that is another model on the local possibles list.

There will certainly be even more electrified choice to come as GWM Haval has stated its intention to stop selling all combustion-powered drivetrains by 2030.

An EV version of the GWM GWM ute is already on sale in China, but its chances of making it to Australia are unclear. All-electric Tank SUVs are also under development but yet to be revealed.

The popularity of the GWM range has been growing significantly in Australia, with the Jolion and diesel-powered GWM Ute the cornerstone of its record local sales.