The GWM Ora, once crowned South Africa’s cheapest EV (at R783,500), tends to be forgotten in the face of far cheaper, more competent electric vehicles released in the last three years. Great Wall Motors (GWM) hopes to rejoin the conversation with the launch of the Ora 5 — a ‘new’ compact SUV EV headed for South Africa this July.
It’s not just an EV, though. Or at least, not strictly. According to GWM’s local site, the Ora 5 can be customised to suit you. Want to burn through petrol? You can, with a 105 kW engine that’ll produce 210Nm of torque. Want a bit of both worlds? That’s an option too, using a 164kW hybrid powertrain delivering 476Nm of torque.
Ora farming
Stuff, obviously, is most interested in the purely electric model GWM touts. That one uses a 150 kW powertrain that’ll top out at 260Nm of torque. GWM reckons that should net a respectable 520km range — though whether it’s quoting a CLTC or WLTP figure still isn’t clear. The next question is all about the price.
If GWM had its way, it’d like to hold onto that bit of mystery for a while longer. Unfortunately, the brand’s Witbank dealership seemingly didn’t get the memo, revealing pricing for both petrol and hybrid trims, and all four EV trims of the Ora 5 headed to South Africa. At the lowest end, you’ll pay R530,000 for the cheapest EV.
That would be the Ora 5 ‘Super Luxury’. There are two models, stretching the price to R550,000. Stray into Ora 5 Ultra Luxury territory, and the price only goes up. The higher-end ‘Ultra Luxury’ trims start at R580,000 and extend as far as R600,000. They’re still a damn sight better than Ora’s first outing.
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Which features will encourage buyers to pick up the more expensive Ultra Luxury trims remains to be seen. All four models, for example, pack in the same 150 kW powertrain and thus won’t outperform their siblings. We doubt it’ll be long before GWM is ready to reveal the finer details, like the tech stuffed inside.
Also of interest is the GWM Ora 5 HEV — also arriving in Super and Ultra Luxury trims. It’s powered by a 1.5-litre turbo motor, accompanied by a single front-mounted electric motor, combining to deliver 164 kW and 476Nm. We’ve compiled a list of all eight Ora 5 trims making their way to South Africa next month, with pricing:
- Ora 5 1.5T Super Luxury DCT – R365,000
- Ora 5 1.5T Ultra Luxury DCT – R410,000
- Ora 5 1.5T HEV Super Luxury DHT – R425,000
- Ora 5 1.5T HEV Ultra Luxury DHT – R475,000
- Ora 5 Super Luxury BEV (5DR) – R530,000
- Ora 5 Super Luxury BEV – R550,000
- Ora 5 Ultra Luxury BEV (5DR) – R580,000
- Ora 5 Ultra Luxury BEV – R600,000
