Electric price leader directly contested by another out of China.

COULD be funky, could be good – but in New Zealand, it’ll simply sell as the GWM Ora, with the hook of price-matching the cheapest new electric on the market.

This from Haval Motors, with confirmation that the five-door medium hatchback with vague styling reference to the original Volkswagen Beetle, is finally coming on sale here, the first shipment landing in April, in three Clean Car rebate-eligible formats, with the entry standard range edition stickering for $49,990.

That’s lineball with the country’s cheapest new electric, the MG ZS EV in base Excite trim.

The other offers are the Ora Long Range, which at $55,990 is $2000 above MG’s other ZS EV variant, the Essence, and Ora GT, at $60,990.

In some other markets, the car is sold as either the Funky Cat or the Good Cat.

Explanation why those identities have been steered clear of for NZ is that there is preference here to conform with “GWM’s primary brand strategy.”

Nonetheless, the convention here basically renders to the parent manufacturing company GWM (for Great Wall Motors), which has Ora and Haval among its subsidiary brands.

What happens if, or when, other Ora cars come into the market remains to be seen. There are also Lightning Cat and Punk Cat cars, though only in left-hand drive.

The Cat thing? It references a popular quote attributed to former leader of China, Deng Xiaopeng, who said: “Doesn't matter the cat is white or black, the good cat is the one that catches rats.”

Ora, which only established in 2018 is shorthand for ‘open, reliable and alternative’.

The base format presents with a 48kWh battery, feeding a single front-mounted electric motor producing 126kW/265Nm. A range of 310 kilometres is cited. This is based on WLTP testing.

The Long Range and GT have the same drive system, but fed by a 64kWh battery, to deliver a WLTP-claimed range of 420km.

By comparison, the ZS EV runs a 50.3kWh battery driving the front wheels via a single electric traction engine, with 130kW and 280Nm cited.

In terms of spec, the Ora Standard and Long Range models are identical save for the battery. The GT is effectively a Long Range with side stripes, sportier wheels, red brake calipers, heated windscreen and memory driver’s seat.

Announcement of Ora’s on sale coincides with confirmation it has a five-star crash test score. That’s as result of a test assessment from NCAP in Europe being adopted by Australasian NCAP, the primary safety auditor for NZ market new cars, to adopt that rating. The agencies acknowledged the car’s safety technology and occupant protection.

It achieved 92 percent for Adult Occupant Protection, 84 percent for Child Occupant Protection, 74 percent for Vulnerable Road User Protection (pedestrians and cyclists), and 93 percent for its Safety Assist technology.

Safety features across the range include seven airbags, Autonomous Emergency Braking with pedestrian, cyclist and crossing detection, Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop and Go, Blind Spot Detection and Lane Change Assist, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keep Assist, Lane Centre Keeping, Emergency Lane Keep, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Rear Collision Warning and Traffic Sign Recognition.

The car’s specification includes 18-inch alloy wheels, LED lights with Daytime Running Lamps (DRL), 10.25-inch full colour instrument cluster, 10.25-inch multimedia touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless charging, leatherette seats, six-way electric driver’s seat, four-way electric passenger’s seat, automatic anti-glare rear-view mirror, heated, power-adjustable door mirrors, 360 degree around-view camera and rear parking sensors.