PETALING JAYA: Thais have been getting first dibs at Ora products before Malaysians do.
The Ora Good Cat electric hatchback debuted in Thailand a year ago before making its way to Malaysia on Nov 30 this year.
Now we hear of another model called Ora Grand Cat. It's actually the Lightning Cat but is being marketed in the Asean region as the Grand Cat.
This is the first-ever showcase in Thailand of the new car, pitched as Ora's first premium electric coupe.
The four-door five-seat coupe was unveiled at the 39th Thailand International Motor Expo 2022, which runs from Dec 1-12.
At over 4.8m long, 1.8m wide and 1.5m tall, it's a bigger and more powerful car than the Good Cat and would be priced higher.
In China where it was launched two months ago, it's offered in four versions priced from around 190,000 yuan to 276,000 yuan (RM119,000 to RM172,000).
The Grand Cat's exterior design features a glass roof, active air inlet grille, an electric rear spoiler and a exhaust synthetic noise for a sporty driving experience.
Like the Good Cat, it is built on Great Wall Motor's modular Lemon platform for electric cars.
It also comes with Ora Autopilot 3.0 intelligent navigation system to offer a smarter driving experience.
The interior is fitted with a 12.3-inch multimedia touch screen, 10.25-inch driving information display, 11 speakers with independent amplifier, and electric driver and passenger seats with massage and cooling systems, providing improved comfort.
The Grand Cat is powered by two electric motors meaning it's a four-wheel drive car. The motors provide a total output of 402hp and 680Nm of torque, giving it a 0-100kph acceleration time of 4.3 seconds. For comparison, the front-wheel drive Good Cat has only a single electric motor making 141hp and 210Nm of torque.
The low-slung streamlined car has a drag coefficient of 0.22.
Range is 550km on a full charge (NEDC), which does not represent real-world range as in the new WLTP standard. Great Wall Motor doesn't cite WLTP range - yet. So expect the Grand Cat to actually offer a realistic range of 450km or thereabout.
Ora is a sub-brand focusing on electric vehicles (EVs) under the Great Wall Motor multi-brand portfolio.
At the Thai auto show, Great Wall Motor also displayed the new Haval H6 Hybrid SUV and the TANK500 HEV. The Good Cat 500 Pro was unveiled with a new colour – Pistachio Green. Other vehicles on display at the Great Wall Motor booth were Haval H6 Plug-in Hybrid SUV, Haval Jolion Hybrid SUV and Good Cat GT.
