GWM Ora Funky Cat loses some soul with Ora 03 rebrand

In a bid to make the Ora Funky Cat more appealing to European customers, Chinese firm GWM (Great Wall Motor) has renamed its little electric supermini Ora 03.

The Ora 03’s competition is rapidly growing with the likes of the MINI Cooper EV and Vauxhall Corsa Electric, plus the upcoming Renault 5 and fellow Chinese offering, the BYD Dolphin all fighting for EV supermini sales. 

GWM recently expanded the Funky Cat line up with the First Edition model, which features a larger 63kWh battery (compared to the 48kWh unit the standard car uses). This upped the range from 193 miles to a much more competitive 260 miles. We’ve also seen a sporty ‘Funky Cat GT’ hot hatch variant that will rival the MG4 XPower and even the production version of the Alpine A290_ß. 

No changes to the Funky Cat are expected as a result of this renaming venture. The recently introduced Ora Lightning Cat saloon, which borrows plenty of technology and design from the hatchback will also change its name to a simpler ‘Ora 07’. The Ora 07 is expected to join the GWM range in early 2024.

GWM Ora has grown its UK operations rather quickly since it debuted here back in 2021 - parent company Great Wall Motors had previous experience selling pick-up trucks in the UK.

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