Great Wall Motors (GWM) will showcase its full electric Ora this week at the Nampo Harvest Day exhibition in Bothaville in the Free State, and is set to be the cheapest electric car in South Africa.
The Chinese manufacturer has been operating as Haval Motors South Africa (HMSA) and will showcase two brands at the expo – the all electric Ora, and the Tank.
The electric Ora is a compact city car, just like the Mini Cooper SE, but has a much bigger battery and due to its efficiency, a better range of an estimated over 400km from a single charge. It can be recharged at a maximum of 80kW from a DC charge and will go from 10% to 80% in 41 minutes.
The Ora has an output of 126kW and 250N of torque, and accelerates from 0-100km in eight seconds. It has a top speed of 160km/h.
According to the company, the GWM Ora will retail for a starting R716 900 all the way up to R915 900.
HMSA’s chief operations office Conrad Groenewal says: “This is a significant step for GWM South Africa, especially as the car uses a Dragon Volt battery from SVolt Energy Technology Co. that is cobalt-free, as well as being long-lasting and extremely durable.”
The Mini Cooper SE is currently priced at R750 002, and will no longer be the “cheapest EV” in SA, or shall we say, “least expensive” EV, once the Ora goes on sale locally.