The dealer network for the UK's newest car brand entrant, GWM Ora, is hoped to reach 16 locations by the end of this year as sales of its electric vehicles (EVs) begin to gain ground.

GWM Ora is part of China’s Great Wall Group, which started in 1984 and now employs some 60,000 people across its numerous vehicle manufacturers. The Ora brand is Great Wall’s dedicated electric car brand, and it recently set up a research and development branch in Germany, a sign of how seriously it wants to become established in Europe.

It is now distributed here by IM Group, which also supplies the UK with Subaru and Isuzu new cars and Mitsubishi parts. IM Group executive Toby Marshall was recently promoted to managing director of GWM Ora UK from his prior sales and marketing director role and is overseeing the start of sales. First is the GWM Ora Funky Cat, a battery electric vehicle (BEV) priced from £31,995, and IM Group hopes sales will reach 5,000 units by the end of 2023.

AM100 dealer groups Lookers, Peter Vardy and Wessex Garages were the first to open GWM Ora showrooms in the UK in November 2022. Chorley Group and City West Country joined them in February 2023, along with Lookers’ Charles Hurst division in Northern Ireland. More dealerships will be revealed throughout 2023.

Dealers have franchise contracts, not agency agreements. They will adopt a 'hub and spoke' approach, with a hub handling sales and service, and, as the GWM Ora parc grows, satellite aftersales workshops will form the spokes.

“We will grow the network organically,” says Marshall. “So, when we see demand increasing, we will appoint more retailers around the country and fill the gaps as we go. We’ve been super busy with enquiries from potential retail partners of all shapes and sizes.”

The focus is on keeping retailers’ business case strong and building geographical coverage, including prioritising areas where EV demand is highest, such as cities planning low emission zones. Regional marketing will target consumers within a 60-minute drive of a dealership.

On the part of the retail partners, attitude and energy is key. “We have to work with the retailers to get the brand established,” adds Marshall. He is pragmatic about multi-franchising, and says the majority of franchisees are adding GWM Ora on locations where they already have other brands. One Lookers site, in Wolverhampton, shares its location with Mercedes-Benz and Smart.

He says the 5,000 sales prediction is what the company thinks it could sell, rather than the figure the manufacturer in China has said it must sell.

While its retail partners will have showroom cars and at least two demonstrators, GWM Ora UK will hold all retail stock at its import centre at Sheerness in Kent and will release cars to dealerships once sold orders have been received. Marshall says this ensures that dealers won’t feel any pressure to move stock on at a discount.

GWM Ora UK provides a centralised ‘order online’ service too, which allows a customer to buy however they want, including processing finance and a part-exchange. Marshall says he expects to find that many customers do bits online that they find more tedious but still visit a showroom to check that the car will suit their needs.

“It’s up to them; they can do as much, or as little, online as they want,” he adds. Customers who want a car on contract hire will deal with the retailers too.

During the media launch Marshall told AM that GWM Ora is positioned as offering more premium cars than some existing Chinese brands selling EVs here, such as MG Motor, and the launch marketing needs to persuade curious consumers to visit showrooms and drive the Funky Cat to realise the level of equipment provided.

"The car is premium and it’s hard to get that across unless someone experiences it," he adds.

“Everything you touch in there is premium quality. There’s no squeaks and rattles which is important for an electric car because it’s so quiet to drive. It’s a really good, high quality package.”

Pictures of the Funky Cat can be deceptive too, suggesting it is supermini-size to some consumers. However, the car sits in the C-segment alongside established hatchbacks such as the Vauxhall Astra and Renault Mégane E-Tech.

Funky Cat has just scooped the EuroNCAP ‘Best In Class’ award for safety in the small family car segment. To raise awareness, Marshall and his team displayed the car at events in 2022, where it drew the attention of existing EV owners as well as potential converts, and he says it attracted 8,000 registrations of interest via its website.

Because it is something fresh it is drawing good levels of attention, he adds. A Funky Cat GT, with different bumpers and a different steering wheel, will be added to the range soon, and a version with a larger battery will likely be joining the UK line-up.

A second car in the GWM Ora range, an as yet unnamed four-door saloon sitting in the D-segment, was revealed at the 2022 Paris Motor Show as the ‘Next Cat’ although in China it carries the Lightning Cat badge.

It will come to the UK, but IM Group was unable to confirm when exactly. While the D-segment has declined hugely since the prime days of the Ford Mondeo, the company expects an electric family saloon to win some business and follow in Tesla’s shoes.

Asked whether IM Group will bring to the UK other brands from the vast Great Wall Group family, Marshall responds “who knows” and added that right now the focus is just on Ora.