Tesla Model 3 and BYD Seal Performance rival GWM Ora Sport not a lock for Australia as electric car market softens

On paper it should be a no-brainer. The new GWM Ora Sport is a 300kW/680Nm dual-motor electric car ready to take on the likes of the Tesla Model 3 and BYD Seal in a growing performance EV market.

Except, the performance EV market isn’t growing at the rate it once was, nor is the overall electric vehicle market. So much so that GWM, already a player in the competitive small car market with the Ora hatch, is hesitating on the Ora Sport’s local chances.

It is being evaluated alongside the Cannon Alpha and Tank 500 plug-in models. GWM Australia’s head of marketing and communications, Steve Maciver, admitted to CarsGuide that introducing the all-electric Ora Sport isn’t as obvious as it may have previously seemed.

“Like everything, we've got to look at the market and work out what we can do and where the opportunity sits,” Maciver said. “You know, we are relatively happy with Ora and how it's selling today. Do we think we'd like more? Yes. But there is no doubt that the market's come back a little bit for EV.

“We see plug-in hybrid as being probably more of an immediate opportunity for us, but we're certainly not ruling [Ora Sport] out. That's now available to us in right-hand drive, it wasn't previously, it was something that was being mooted. It's been made available to us in right-hand drive now so we'll continue to look at it. But, yeah, it might come later [than the PHEV models].”

While Maciver insists the company is happy with sales of the Ora hatch it lags well behind its obvious rivals, the MG4 and BYD Dolphin. According to the latest new car sales figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, year-to-date GWM has sold just 781 Oras while BYD has sold 1639 Dolphins and MG has shifted 3387 examples of its electric hatch.

Asked if there was an opportunity to close that sales gap, Maciver was bullish on GWM’s strategy for the Ora.

“Yeah, look, potentially, I think,” he said. “You know there's different strategies coming from different companies, and I'm not, I'm not going to comment on what other competitors are doing, but with Ora, it's got to a position now which we think is a reasonable monthly sales volume, given what the car offers.

“The feedback in terms of how it drives, the fit and finish, all that stuff's been very, very positive,” he added. “But the fact is, we've launched our first EV into the small hatch segment. The reality is in terms of small hatches per se, you know, it's not a massive part of the market you know, we'll continue to look at other options for it.”

Adding the Ora Sport could help attract more attention to the brand’s electric vehicles, with its larger size and increased performance. However, the dual-motor sedan is a noticeably more premium offering than the cut-price hatch, boasting not only the extra power but also a higher level of cabin presentation; including an 11-speaker Infinity sound system.

With a 550km (NEDC) driving range and 300kW/580Nm the Ora Sport would line-up against the Model 3 Performance and the Seal Performance. The former is priced from $80,900 and the latter from $68,798. Even if GWM could undercut both of those rivals it’s likely the Ora Sport would cost significantly more than the range-topping Ora GT hatch, which starts at $46,990.

However, with it available in right-hand drive and already in Australia for evaluation it remains a strong possibility for local sale - even if the EV market slows further.