You might never have heard of GWM ORA, but our research shows that electric car buyers are naturally open to new brands – especially if it offers something new and exciting.

But even if the cars look great and the numbers add up, you will naturally be curious about the company behind the brand. Does it have the experience and expertise needed to make an advanced and reliable car? Will they still be around in a few years when you need parts and servicing back up?

 We’re taking a closer look at GWM ORA to see what’s behind the brand which makes the ORA 03 and will launch the ORA 07 later this year.

Great Wall Motor

GWM ORA is the electric car brand of global automotive giant Great Wall Motor. GWM ORA has been available in Asia since 2018 and launched in Europe in 2021, before arriving in the UK in December 2022.

GWM itself was founded in China in 1984 and is now the eighth largest car maker in its home country, with more than 1.23 million sales in 2023, 316,000 of which were to export markets. Named after China’s most famous and enduring landmark, the company employs more than 59,000 people and has a footprint in more than 60 countries. It has its headquarters in Baoding, China, and has R&D centres across the world to make the most of local talent and test conditions.

It’s not just customers who trust the quality and expertise of GWM. In 2018, the company signed a joint venture agreement with BMW to develop and build electric vehicles together. The first product from this collaboration – the new electric MINI – has already begun to roll off the production line. 

The Products

GWM ORA’s products combine the latest in human-centric technology and safety with unique, characterful styling.  

The company now has two variants of ORA 03 on sale in the UK, the PURE+ and PRO+. This car was previously known as the Funky Cat but has now been brought into line with new naming conventions as part of a wider brand strategy update. Since launch, more than 1,000 ORA Funky Cats and ORA 03s have been registered in the UK.

Despite monthly leasing costs which are a fraction of similarly sized rivals, the ORA 03 PURE+ comes equipped with a highly competitive specification, including a 48kWh battery with 193 miles of WLTP range, wireless phone charging, facial recognition, electric front seats, app integration and the ‘Hello ORA’ intelligent voice assistance.

ORA 03 PRO+ offers an upgraded 63kWh battery with 260 miles of WLTP range with an enhanced level of comfort features such as heated, cooled and massaging front seats, heated steering-wheel, panoramic sunroof, powered tailgate, rear privacy glass and advanced automatic parking assistance.

The combination of technology and advanced engineering meant that the 03 has a full five-star rating from Euro NCAP and achieved the highest score in the ‘Small Family Car’ category overall, based on its results for Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable User Protection and Safety Assist technologies.

The UK insurance industry’s Thatcham Research centre also announced the ORA 03 was one of the top 10 safest cars to be launched into the British market, applauding it for the impressive active safety technology.

As standard, ORA 03 comes equipped with 360-degree cameras, adaptive cruise control with lane centring function, lane change assist, blind spot detection, traffic sign recognition, emergency braking and rear cross traffic alert and brake.

The ORA 03 will be joined later in 2024 by the ORA 07 – a new dynamic, all-electric saloon with a range of around 300 miles according to the official WLTP figures. Specification is yet to be confirmed, but, there will be a choice of both 2WD and 4WD powertrains, with the twin motor version producing around 400hp with 680NM of torque, resulting in a 0-62mph time of just over 4.4 seconds. 

As well as its distinctive looks, the ORA 07 will have premium features such as a large glass panoramic roof, synthetic leather seats and interior multi-colour ambient lights as standard.

Support here to stay

With the backing of one of China’s biggest car companies, and a UK importer which has decades of experience with brands such as Subaru and Isuzu, it’s clear that GMW ORA is here for the long term. The company has now appointed 18 retail partners who between them have a network of over 30 outlets in the UK. And that’s just the start.

The brand is aiming to appoint at least one new retail partner a month on average in 2024 to support the increasingly popular ORA 03, as well as the ORA 07. Buyers shouldn’t have to visit the dealers too often though, as the ORA 03 has class-leading service intervals at every 2 years or 18,000 miles.

To give buyers even more peace of mind, the ORA 03 is covered by an eight year / 100,000 mile battery warranty, five year / unlimited mileage car warranty and five year breakdown cover provided by ORA Mobility Assistance in association with the AA. 

For more information on the GMW ORA line-up, visit the GWM ORA website by clicking here. 

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