A cat may need 9 lives, however the Ora Funky Cat has used them up remarkably rapidly. The quirky electrical hatchback has been renamed to easily the ‘Ora 03’ as a part of the Chinese maker’s range-wide rebranding.
Since its arrival on UK shores, the Ora Funky Cat has definitely put the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons with its uncommon title. Sales have but to take off, although; Ora just lately celebrated 1,000 gross sales over the past yr. While this would possibly sound spectacular, the similarly-priced MG4 managed to make its technique to over 21,000 homeowners in the identical interval.
It appears now that dad or mum firm GWM (Great Wall Motors) is hoping {that a} extra generic title will assist attract starchy British patrons, with the First Edition and First Edition+ fashions now being rebadged as Pure+ and Pro+. Both of which are actually on sale, with costs ranging from £31,995 and £34,995 respectively.
More Ora 03 variants are on the horizon too, as GWM Ora has confirmed a high-performance ‘GT’ mannequin will arrive later in 2024, as will an entry-level variant with a extra aggressive price ticket.
This renaming scheme additionally implies that the forthcoming Ora Lightning Cat saloon will as an alternative undertake the a lot much less eyebrow-raising ‘Ora 07’ nameplate; the forthcoming Tesla Model 3 rival is confirmed to reach earlier than the top of 2024 and is claimed to supply a spread of “over 300 miles”.
The GWM Ora model made its debut within the UK in 2022 with the arrival of the 03 (then, Funky Cat), and has since invested in a seller community that now spans over 30 areas throughout the UK. It has since been joined by a number of different Chinese producers similar to BYD, Nio and XPeng, that are all trying to tackle the same old line-up of mainstream European producers.
