The AliExpress version of the Porsche Panamera is coming to the Netherlands
The headline above this article may sound a bit disrespectful, but we immediately thought back to the first generation Porsche Panamera when we saw the rear of the Ora 07. It is a model from Great Wall Motor that is on its way to the Netherlands. We will now explain to you what exactly GWM (plans) is.
Great Wall Motor is a Chinese automobile manufacturer with almost 80,000 employees that sold around 1,060,000 cars last year, spread across several sub-brands. Wey and Ora are the most important ones for us. Unlike many other Chinese brands that have set foot on European soil in recent years, GWM makes more than just electric cars.
Wey’s hybrids
For example, the subsidiary brand Wey (still) produces hybrids. This applies to the Wey 03 and its bigger brother 05, both of which have a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo engine in the nose. At the same time, they also have a long purely electric range thanks to a huge battery pack in the floor. Would you like to know more about this sub-brand? Then take a look at our driving test with the Wey 03.
Although GWM previously wanted to market its subsidiaries as their own brands, it is now known that they will all fall under the Great Wall Motor banner. The Wey 03 will therefore be called GWM Wey 03.
GWM Ora as a Porsche Panamera and Beetle doppelganger
The same applies to the fully electric Ora models, which are also coming to the Netherlands, despite a completely different design language. Previously at the Shanghai Motor Show we met the sexist Ora Ballet Cat, which looks like a pale copy of the legendary Volkswagen Beetle.
You won’t see the Ballet Cat on Dutch streets anytime soon, but you will see the GWM Ora 03 and 07. The numbers are based on the format. The 03 is a compact hatchback that looks surprisingly fresh, and the 07 is a large sedan that probably leaves a slightly less positive impression.
GWM Ora 07 is reminiscent of Porsche Panamera
You know that group game where you sit in a circle and whisper a sentence one after the other that keeps changing? With the Ora 07, it seems like this game is over with the first generation Porsche Panamera. GWM tells us that sales expectations for this model in Europe are not high, also because it is a sedan. The Ora 07 serves primarily as a design statement. Right, yes.
What GWM does well is develop its own cars as much as possible. Not only do the combustion engines and transmissions in the Wey models come from our own production, GWM also produces the battery packs for the other cars.
Svolt as its own battery manufacturer
That’s why Svolt was founded. A company that is now listed on the stock exchange and is involved in the development of batteries. Svolt is expected to produce more than 100 GWh of battery packs by 2025, equivalent to more than 2 million 50 kWh batteries.
The GWM models are already for sale in some European countries and if the Chinese have their way, the Netherlands will soon follow. The brand wants to open up the entire European market as quickly as possible, which, according to the Chinese car company, is currently open Window of opportunity quickly. We are currently still looking for a Dutch importer.