Autocar
Lacklustre sales performance over four years prompts Chinese manufacturer's importer to rethink its approach The Ora 03 – previously known as the Funky Cat – is being phased out of UK dealerships after four years, as maker GWM overhauls its European strategy with an eye on significant growth. The Funky Cat was the debut model from GWM's fashion-focused EV brand Ora, launching here in 2022 as a premium-priced rival to the MG 4 , Volkswagen ID 3 and Renault Zoe . The hatchback was renamed 03 a year later as part of a push to simplify GWM's line-up and more recently updated to offer a more expansive choice of batteries and trim levels, spanning a price range from £25,000 to £33,000. The 03 has consistently sold much more slowly than its rivals since launch – and especially so in more recent times, as it has been outperformed and undercut by a growing field of electric hatchbacks from better established marques – both European and Chinese. Last year, GWM's UK importer, International Motors, delivered just 542 03s to UK buyers – while Volkswagen and MG sold around 9000 examples of the similarly positioned ID 3 and 4 respectively. And now, with just 26 units registered in the first three months of 2026, the 03 is being taken off sale, a spokesperson for International Motors has confirmed. New cars are now available only from dealer stock. With no immediate plans to introduce further Ora models to the UK (including the previously mooted 07 saloon and recently revealed 05 crossover), it remains unclear what will happen to the brand's UK dealership network. As of July 2024, there were 40 Ora sites across the country, made up of sales, aftersales and test drive centres. International Motors will continue to import GWM's Poer 300 pick-up truck and the Haval Jolion Pro hybrid crossover, which together are understood to have accounted for around 80 sales from January to March. In the same timeframe, the Jolion Pro's similarly sized rival, the Jaecoo 7 , sold nearly 16,000 units to make it the UK's second best-selling car. Despite the lacklustre performance, the Haval and Poer brands will remain on the market – and other marques in the GWM stable are under consideration for UK entry as the Chinese firm plots a turnaround for its ailing European business. Last year, GWM said it had "reassessed its regional set-up and approach to further expansion" in light of an uncertain European market environment; and devised a new strategy for the region aimed at making it "a volume mainstream brand in all major European countries". This new plan, GWM said, will "implement learnings from the first phase" – referring to the European launches of Ora, Poer and Haval – and manifest in a "much broader product and powertrain portfolio". The company plans to introduce at least seven new models and derivatives to Europe from mid-2026, mainly comprising Haval SUVs "in different sizes and categories" and with a choice of two- or four-wheel drive. Ora will offer an "entirely new family of urban compact passenger cars with different body types" in Europe as part of this new plan, but it remains to be seen which of its Chinese-market models fit this bill and which could come to the UK. International Motors previously said other GWM brands were under consideration for the UK, including crossover maker Wey and 4x4 specialist Tank, and pointed to the success of certain models in Australia (another right-hand-drive market) as an indication of which could be viable for the UK.
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