What is it?

Although a member of the GWM & Haval family, the Ora will be sold through 20 dedicated dealers, and GWM will be offering a 7 kW home-charging wall box.

Exterior:

From the outside, the distinctive body shape (courtesy of a design team lead by former Porsche designer, Emanuel Derta) with its round headlights in front, immediately catches the eye.

The Ora 03 can be personalised with a palette of exterior colours, including Hamilton White, Sun Black, Mars Red, HR Blue, EM Beige, L5 Green, LB Green and KU Grey (Ora 03 400 Super Luxury only).

Interior:

Inside there are high-quality materials and two 10.25-inch touchscreens (instrument cluster and a touchscreen infotainment system) integrated into the front panel, with every function just a touch away.

A standout feature is the rotary-style gear selector, ensuring a modern and intuitive approach to gear selection.

The five-seater offers 228 litres of luggage space (with the rear seats fixed in position) expanding to 858 litres with the rear seats folded down.

Powertrains:

The GWM Ora 03 range consists of four models – the 300 Super Luxury, the 400 Super Luxury, the 400 Ultra Luxury and the 400 GT Ultra Luxury – all powered by a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor delivering 126 kW and 250 Nm of peak torque to the front wheels.

Weighing only 1 555 kg, this allows the GWM Ora 03 to dash from 0-100 km/h in 8.5 seconds and reach a top speed of just under 160 km/h.

Coupled with a 48 kWh lithium-ion phosphate battery, the electric motor in the entry-level standard-range 300 Super Luxury delivers a consumption of 16.7 kWh/100 km for a range of up to 310 km (WLTP cycle). The extended range 400 Super Luxury model is driven by a 63 kWh nickel-manganese cobalt battery with a consumption of 16.5 kWh/100 km to deliver a range of up to 420 km.

This is similar to the figures indicated for the fully equipped 400 Ultra Luxury, with the flagship 400 GT Ultra Luxury delivering a range of up to 400 km owing to a slightly higher battery consumption (16.8 kWh/100 km) giving the new GWM Ora 03 the best Range-per-rand of any EV in South Africa.

Recharging of the smaller battery in the 300 Super Luxury from 10% to 89% with a 64 kW DC charge will take around 50 minutes and for the extended range 400 GT Ultra Luxury it will take about an hour. With an 11 kW AC charger it will take around 5.5 hours to completely recharge the smaller battery in the 300 Super Luxury.

Taking into consideration a rate of around R3.50 per kWh for AC home charging, it will cost owners approximately R170 to R250 to fully charge their GWM Ora 03. Using DC fast charging at a rate of R5 to R5.80 per kWh, the cost for a full charge will be around R250 to R300.

Given the current price of petrol (R23.44 per litre) and diesel (R24.16 per litre) versus electricity (R2.50 per kWh), and using a consumption figure of 5 litres/100 km for petrol- and diesel-driven Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) cars respectively, compared to 16 kWh per 100 km for the ORA EVs, the cost-per-kilometre for an EV such as the GWM Ora 03 will be R0.40 per kilometre travelled, versus R1.17 per kilometre for a petrol-driven car, and R1 per kilometre for a diesel car (at current rates).

Price and warranty:

The GWM Ora 03 comes with a 7-year/200 000 km warranty and an 8-year/150 000 km warranty on high voltage parts, a 7-year/105 000 km service plan and 7-year/unlimited km roadside assistance. Service intervals are 15 000 km/12 months.

GWM Ora 03 300 Super Luxury (R686 950), GWM Ora 03 400 Super Luxury (R775 950), GWM Ora 03 400 Ultra Luxury (R805 950) and the GWM Ora 03 400 GT Ultra Luxury (R835 950).