GWM Ora 07 launched in Malaysia – electric sedan with up to 408 PS, 640 km NEDC range, from RM170k

Previewed almost exactly a month ago, the GWM Ora 07 has been launched in Malaysia. Great Wall Motor’s flagship electric vehicle looks to compete with the likes of the Tesla Model 3 and BYD Seal – and it undercuts the both of them.

As previously reported, the Ora 07 will be available in two variants, the front-wheel-drive Long Range and all-wheel-drive Performance. Prices are as follows:

• GWM Ora 07 Long Range – RM169,800
• GWM Ora 07 Performance – RM189,800

These figures are recommended retail prices (excluding on-the-road costs) and include a six-year/150,000 km warranty and an eight-year/180,000 km battery and motor warranty. There’s also a one-to-one battery replacement if its health drops below 70% during the warranty period.

Additionally, the first 500 customers will receive a free AC wallbox charger and a general warranty extension to eight years or 180,000 km, matching the battery warranty. There’s also a RM3,000 rebate in store if you’ve purchased an older GWM vehicle.

The Ora 07 is built on GWM’s Lemon platform – the same one that underpins the Good Cat – with the Long Range model shown here powered by a single front motor that produces 204 PS (150 kW) and 340 Nm of torque, enabling it to get from zero to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds on its way to a top speed of 170 km/h. An 83.5 kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery comes as standard and provides a range of 640 km on the rather lenient NEDC cycle.

As the name suggests, the Performance is quite a bit quicker, thanks to a second motor providing all-wheel drive and a total output of 408 PS (300 kW) and 680 Nm. This roughly halves the century sprint time to 4.3 seconds, as well as delivering a higher top speed of 180 km/h. More power equals less efficiency, so the range drops to 483 km, this time on the WLTP cycle.

Both models support just 88 kW of DC fast charging, taking 32 minutes to top up the battery from 30 to 80%. On the flip side, the Ora 07 can accept up to 11 kW of AC charging, although the quoted charging time is still a lengthy 15 hours. There’s also a 3.3 kW vehicle-to-load function, three regenerative braking settings and five drive modes – Normal, Well-Being (dulls the throttle response