First ORA 5 shipment sold out as New Zealand’s lowest-price electric SUV arrives

GWM’s first shipment of the new ORA 5 electric SUV has sold out before most buyers have had a chance to test drive one, arriving on the heels of a record June for the brand and ahead of a wave of new electrified models.

The first 100 examples of New Zealand’s most affordable SUV-based EV have all been sold, and around 90 per cent of a second 100-unit shipment arriving this month is already allocated.

“So we’re expecting that we should be around about that hundred odd range a month, we’re hoping,” says GWM New Zealand country manager Cameron Thomas.

Deliveries to GWM’s 20-strong dealer network are now under way, with demonstrators available for test drives.

The ORA 5 is offered in two grades, the Lux at $36,990 and the Ultra at $39,990, both plus on-road costs. Both are powered by a 150kW/260Nm front-mounted motor fed by an LFP battery, delivering a WLTC range of 435km and a 0-100km/h time of eight seconds. DC fast charging takes the battery from 10 to 80 per cent in around 30 minutes, and 6kW vehicle-to-load capability lets the car power tools or campsites.

Standard equipment includes seven airbags, a 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control and autonomous emergency braking, with GWM targeting a five-star ANCAP rating. The Ultra adds a panoramic glass roof, electric tailgate, heated and ventilated front seats, heated steering wheel and a 50W wireless charger. The ORA 5 carries a seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty, an eight-year battery warranty and five years of roadside assistance.

The EV’s arrival comes with GWM already on a roll. The brand recorded its best-ever month in June, with 610 registrations for 4.7 per cent of the market and seventh place overall, up 42 per cent on the same month last year, a result achieved largely before ORA 5 deliveries began. With the sold-out first shipment now reaching customers, the EV’s impact will show in July’s figures.

GWM is already New Zealand’s third biggest PHEV brand and fourth biggest hybrid brand year to date, according to NZTA data, and the ORA 5 marks the start of a serious battery electric push.

“It’s no secret that we’ve been keen to add a fully electrified SUV to the range for some time and the ORA 5 SUV is the perfect model to kick start GWM’s EV ambitions,” says GWM ANZ chief operating officer John Kett.

“While our range of hybrids and PHEVs have been chosen by an increasing number of New Zealand new car buyers, we’re confident that a new range of ORA EVs, starting with the ORA 5 SUV, will enable GWM to become the brand of choice for an even greater number of Kiwis wherever their powertrain preference lies.”

More plug-in models are close behind. September brings the Cannon Hi4-T plug-in hybrid ute, which will sit alongside the larger Cannon Alpha Hi4-T to give GWM what it says is New Zealand’s broadest electrified ute portfolio.

From the fourth quarter, the all-new Haval H7 mid-size SUV arrives with hybrid and plug-in hybrid power, followed by the Jolion Max in both plug-in hybrid and battery electric forms, slotting between the Jolion and H6. A larger ORA 5 Touring EV is also expected early next year.

The new models form part of a plan to launch up to eight vehicles here over the next six months as GWM targets a top five market position by the end of 2027 and top three by 2030.

“No single technology wins every customer, and no single customer needs every technology,” Thomas says. “Our role is to give customers the freedom to choose the solution that best fits their lives, whether that’s petrol, diesel, hybrid, plug-in hybrid or electric. We’re not building a strategy around the business we have today. We’re building a strategy around the business we are becoming.”