The GWM Ora Good Cat EV has landed on all fours in Australia, with the electrical hatchback spied exterior the corporate’s headquarters in Victoria.
These pictures obtained by CarExpert present a right-hand drive model of the small EV sporting Victoria registration plates, which is right here for native testing and analysis functions.
On the rear, the spied car wears GWM, Ora and Good Cat badges.
Good Cat is that this automotive’s title in China, whereas within the UK it’s known as the Funky Cat.
CarExpert understands native naming has but to be confirmed. It was beforehand understood the car might merely be known as the GWM Ora Cat or Cat 01 in Australia.
A trademark software has been submitted for the Good Cat title however in accordance with IP Australia mentioned trademark has been opposed by Caterpillar, which produces building and mining tools.
No matter it’s known as, the car you see right here is predicted to be the primary GWM Ora car offered right here. The model was launched in China in 2018 and its lineup additionally contains the retro Ballet Cat.
“Ora stays very firmly in our sights for Australia though timing nonetheless stays beneath dialogue,” mentioned a spokesperson for GWM Australia.
“Nevertheless, our native testing and validation continues and I can affirm we have now our first Ora right here on the bottom to assist agency up the enterprise case.
“We’ve been impressed with what we see and we’re quietly assured new automotive consumers will probably be too. However let’s wait and see what the approaching months maintain.”
GWM Ora autos are anticipated to reach in Australia in 2023 together with their polar opposites: the burly, body-on-frame SUVs of the GWM Tank model.
The Good Cat will battle the likes of the upcoming MG 4 EV and BYD Dolphin/EA1 (plus the on-sale BYD Atto 3) on the low-end of the EV market.
Specs printed on the model’s UK web site present the GWM Ora as having a 48kWh battery with a claimed vary of 310km on the stricter WLTP take a look at cycle. A bigger 59kWh battery is out there in China.
The hatchback contains a front-mounted electrical motor with 126kW of energy and 250Nm of torque, good for a 0-100km/h time of 8.3 seconds.
It may be charged at as much as 11kW on AC energy and 80kW on DC energy.
It’s 4235mm lengthy on a 2650mm wheelbase, about bang-on the identical dimensions as a Volkswagen Golf 8, and weighs a reasonably gentle 1555kg. It additionally sits on a bespoke electric-only structure and makes use of MacPherson strut entrance and torsion beam rear suspension.
Inside, there’s a ten.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a ten.25-inch digital instrument cluster.
There’s 228L of boot house, increasing to 858L with the rear seats folded.
At the least within the UK and China, there are hanging two-tone inexperienced/white and pink/white inside colourways out there.
It’s launching within the UK with a First Version, which incorporates adaptive cruise management, lane-keep help, lane-centring, visitors jam help, rear cross-traffic help, LED headlights, energy entrance seats, wi-fi telephone charging and a surround-view digital camera.
With a price ticket of £31,995 (A$54,707), that places it virtually straight in opposition to the top-spec MG 4 EV Trophy.
Along with launching the Ora model within the UK and Europe, Nice Wall Motor additionally has a 50:50 partnership with BMW in China and the 2 carmakers are constructing a plant to make electrical variants of BMW’s Mini model and Nice Partitions from 2023.
MORE: Model Overview: OraMORE: GWM accelerates European push with Ora and Wey manufacturers
