Launch report: GWM Ora needs Funky Cat electric car to win buyers' hearts

How influential is a name in the buying decision?

Carmakers agonise over the nameplates of their new launches to ensure nothing offensive slips through. Marketeers often suggest something deep and meaningful behind the choice of name.

But, ultimately, it’ll mean little to most buyers until they feel the need to defend their car choice to friends.

For consumers, a quirky nameplate is sometimes fine and demonstrates some personality, hence Ford’s Probe and Smart’s ForTwo notched up good levels of sales in their respective eras.

Now it’s the turn of this car, the Funky Cat.

A C-segment pure electric vehicle (EV), Funky Cat is the first model in the UK from the GWM Ora brand, which Solihull-based IM Group is importing and distributing for China’s eighth largest vehicle manufacturer, Great Wall.

Launched in First Edition specification, priced from £31,995, it tempts buyers with a combination of nippy performance, expansive interior space and premium-style cabin materials, helped partly by its vast 10-inch instrument cluster adjoining a second 10-inch infotainment display.

The Funky Cat First Edition comes loaded with conveniences, including a reversing camera, keyless entry and start, automatic high beam assist, adjustable regenerative braking and internet radio alongside DAB/FM. 

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will be added as an over-the-air update in mid-2023, which will be welcomed because the built-in sat-nav isn’t the best.

This EV even has a facial recognition system – a little camera in the A-pillar identifies the driver to trigger their pre-set settings for the seat, entertainment and so on. It has a safety role, too: yawn a lot or keep looking away and it’ll warn you about being tired or distracted while driving.

Its weakness is a boot barely bigger than a Mini’s. So, clearly, Funky Cat prioritises occupant space over shopping capacity. But buyers will clearly know what they’re getting.

The First Edition Ora Funky Cat comes with a 48kWh battery pack which is good for a 193-mile range.

However the car, which has been around in China since 2018, will eventually be offered with 58kWh and 63kWh batteries offering 209 and 263 miles – making it one of the longest-range small EVs.

Rapid 64kW charging is possible, allowing drivers to top up the 48kWh pack from 15-80% in 42 minutes while out and about. Although most will charge from a home charger in five hours 24 minutes (15-80%), the Funky Cat is capable of 11kW from a three-phase domestic or commercial supply for a three-hour 12 minute charge.

There’s an incredibly high level of tech considering the Ora Cat’s price, including a number of advanced driver assistance features.

Twelve ultrasonic radar sensors and an array of exterior cameras monitor the car’s surroundings for semi-autonomous driving. Other driver assistance features include lane-keeping, blind-spot monitoring and autonomous parking.

This has helped the Funky Cat receive a five star safety rating from Euro NCAP. It has a five year warranty too, which will reassure buyers given that the brand is completely new to them.

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KEY RIVALS

Cupra Born: Pros – Styling, more dynamic Cons – More expensive

Tesla Model 3: Pros – Strong brand, longer range Cons – More expensive, shorter warranty

MG Motor MG4: Pros – More miles per pound Cons – Cheaper cabin materials

REVIEW RATINGS

Driving.co.uk 4 out of 5 stars

Parkers 3.5 out of 5 stars

Auto Express 4 out of 5 stars

Q&A with Toby Marshall, sales and marketing director, GWM Ora UK

Tell us what has happened to reach this point?
About a year ago Great Wall Motors opened an office in Munich, from which it has R&D to ensure the cars are set up to our tastes in Europe. It has a team setting the brand platform, its tone and how it should be represented across the whole of Europe. Ora is GWM’s electric-only brand, with every product designed from the ground up to be electric.

International Motors has been chosen by GWM Ora to be its distributor for the UK. We have a dedicated sales and marketing team for the Ora product, working closely with European colleagues, slotting into an existing infrastructure.

We can use IM’s parts warehouse to give next-day delivery of parts to make sure customers are looked after. We have the import centre where we can prepare the cars ready for handover to customers, and we’re holding all the UK stock at our import centre.

Dealers have showroom cars and demonstrators, but we’re not forcing stock out to dealers. We’ll keep the vehicles at our import centre and when a dealer has a sold order a vehicle will be moved to the right location.

We have a team experts in everything from homologation to warranty, to look after the dealers and the customers.

What gives you confidence that UK motorists want this car?
The car looks different to most vehicles. It has a premium feel on the inside, and lots of technology. It’s a really good, high-quality package… when you drive the car, experience its technology and examine the looks, it does feel like a friend, a family member – a ‘carpanion’ as we term it.

We’re keeping it really simple while we gauge customer demand for colours, specification etc.  We’re launching a First Edition in four colour combinations which got the most votes from the 8,000 people following us on our database. It’s one variant, no factory options, and it means we can hold the right vehicles, our configurator is really easy to use, our retailers can understand it and we can go to market in the right way. We will grow the line-up in 2023, but we’re starting off keeping it straightforward.

What does the future hold for GWM Ora franchisees?
We think we can do about 5,000 Funky Cat sales in 2023, but if demand is higher than that we can get more cars. If it’s less that’s not a problem; we’re not being told what volume we need to sell. The key is to grow it sensibly and organically. There’s the D-segment saloon to come. There’ll be a number of vehicles in our line-up, and GWM Ora is really looking to have one in lots of different segments.