GWM Set to Launch Affordable Electric SUV in Australia

Australia’s cheapest electric vehicle (EV) right now, the GWM Ora hatch, is just the entrée. Mother brand GWM is expected to release an electric compact SUV model inside the next 12 to 18 months, giving its Ora EV sub-brand the substantially more volume potential it needs to succeed in Australia. While not much is known about what the new EV’s architecture might be, it might be based on GWM’s advanced L.E.M.O.N. platform underpinning the hatch as well as the popular Haval Jolion. The upmarket Wey Latte/03 released in China in 2021 could also provide some reference to possible sizing and proportions. GWM Australia Head of Marketing and Communications Steve Maciver declined to reveal any of Ora’s forward plans, but he did hint that bigger and better things may be in the Ora pipeline soon, based on the strategies of the company’s other brands, Haval, Tank and Ute/Cannon. GWM sees a very strong future for Ora, he said. If you draw a bow and look at the other individual model series, the structure makes sense… at Haval, we got a small SUV, medium SUV and a medium coupe SUV; at Tank we’ve got a medium SUV and an upper medium/large SUV; and who knows we’ve got coming beyond that. If you look at Ora at that same vertical, we’ve got a small hatch. Ora absolutely has a future in this market as part of the GWM stable. When will we see GWM’s EV SUV in Australia… and how much will it cost? It is believed an Ora SUV might be unveiled before the end of the year, ahead of a 2025 local debut at the very earliest. Let’s call it an MY26 model to stay safe. It is possible the Ora SUV will have the Atto 3 squarely in its crosshairs with a circa-$45,000 starting point given GWM’s aggressive pricing strategy with the Ora hatch. The other Ora models sold elsewhere but not available for us include the VW Beetle-esque Ballet Cat and swoopy Lightning Cat/07/Grand Cat sedan. Neither are anticipated to launch here anytime soon.