Chinese electric car to be built in Holden factory: Upgraded 2026 GWM Ora to be sourced from former Holden Colorado factory with major upgrades to better rival MG4 and BYD Dolphin

GWM’s affordable Ora hatchback is set to receive some major upgrades later this year, while also shifting production to the company’s Rayong plant in Thailand.

The Rayong facility may ring a bell as the same site which produced the Holden Colorado. It was purchased by GWM in 2020 after Colorado production ended, and was significantly re-tooled and modernised by the Chinese giant.

It was always destined to be a strategic factory producing right-hand drive vehicles for South East Asia, but with production of the Australian-delivered GWM Ora electric hatch shifting to the facility, it fulfils a promise by the brand made in 2020 that the site would one day produce vehicles for the Australian market again.

At the time, GWM’s spokespeople told CarsGuide that the Rayong plant had “much more capacity” to fill right-hand drive demand, with a current maximum output of 80,000 vehicles annually.

Speaking to CarsGuide a GWM spokesperson said government documents and information out of the Thai market does “confirm that GWM is moving sourcing of the Ora hatch” but couldn’t confirm any further details for the time being.

However CarsGuide understands the shift in production will coincide with a major update to the Ora hatch designed to make it more competitive with its major rivals, the MG4 hatch and BYD Dolphin, both of which it still trails in the sales race so far this year.

The spokesperson also confirmed that while the Haval H6 (in hybrid and PHEV forms) and Tank 300 diesel are also built at the Rayong plant, there were no plans to shift production of those models from the Chinese factory for the Australian market for the time being.

Every other GWM model, including the Cannon range of utes and Tank SUVs come out of Chinese facilities for Australia.

GWM expects new Thai-built Oras to hit Australian shores in Q3 of this year. The recently-launched upgraded Chinese model, which seems to be the blueprint for the future of the hatch, includes a minor exterior refresh but a major interior and technology upgrade.

The 2026 model for the Chinese market features a new steering wheel and multimedia screen, refreshed software, and a tweaked interior with improved practicality and features.

Updated Oras will also feature V2L with an output of 3.3kW, although it is unclear if all of these improvements will make it to the Thai-built car.

Otherwise the new Ora will have a carryover 126kW/250Nm front-mounted electric motor, and similar driving range to the current car (310km for the Standard Range, or 420km for the Extended Range).

Expect to learn more about the new GWM Ora ahead of its Q3 launch window. Next from GWM locally is the launch of the updated Haval H6 mid-size SUV, and its H7 soft-roader spin-off, both of which ride on the same platform. They will bring a more recent version of the brand’s software and interior switchgear, while expanding on the brand’s wide range of SUVs.

While the Ora will continue as GWM’s sole electric offering for the time being, the Australian division has long promised more EVs are in the pipeline, especially as Australia’s new vehicle efficiency standards (NVES) crack down on fleet average carbon emissions for each manufacturer later in the decade.