GWM ORA has appointed two new retail partners in Q1, with four new sites to go live in Abingdon, Scunthorpe, Driffield and Bridlington. These new sites join a network of over 30 GWM ORA customer service points in the UK made up of sales, aftersales and test drive centres.
The brand is aiming to appoint at least one new retail partner a month on average in 2024 to support the introduction of additional ORA 03 variants, like the recently launched PRO+, as well as the highly anticipated ORA 07 which is planned to launch later this year.
Toby Marshall, Managing Director, GWM ORA commented: “There’s no better way to demonstrate our innovative all-electric vehicles through trusted and well established retail partners like Hartwell and Richardson. They join a network of over 30 GWM ORA customer service points across the UK, which we plan to develop even further this year in line with our ambitious growth plans.”
Hartwell Group has been in operation for over 100 years and is a leading EV and automotive specialist in the retail sector across eleven sites in the UK. The retail group recently launched its ‘Hartwell-EV’ brand to specially help consumers with all aspects of EV ownership, from purchasing, charging, warranty and more.
Commenting on their appointment, Mark Knapton, Hartwell Managing Director said: “We are delighted to have been appointed to represent GWM ORA at our sites in Abingdon and Scunthorpe. We are already great advocates of electric vehicles as we currently retail new Ford electric vehicles and a range of multi-franchise used electric vehicles. The introduction of GWM ORA’s range into the UK is very exciting as they offer high quality vehicles that represent great value and we believe they will be attractive to customers who may never have considered a fully electric vehicle previously.”
Richardson’s is an independent family run automotive retail business in East Yorkshire that has been in operation for 105 years, specialising in new and used car sales, servicing and repairs to all makes. The business currently retails a variety of all-electric and hybrid commercial and passenger vehicles, providing customers with expert advice and knowledge on the benefits of electric mobility solutions.
Commenting on their appointment, Toby Richardson, Managing Director said: “We are very excited to be partnering with the GWM ORA, which we believe will complement our existing new car franchises. Customer satisfaction is our number one priority and we look forward to welcoming customers past and present to the latest brand in our portfolio.”
GWM ORA now has two model variants of ORA 03 on sale in the UK, PURE+ and PRO+; naming conventions that have recently been announced as part of a wider brand strategy update. Available to lease from just £185* a month, ORA 03 PURE+ comes equipped with a high level of specification as standard, including: a 48kWh battery with 193 miles of WLTP range, wireless phone charging, facial recognition, electric front seats, app integration and ‘Hello ORA’ intelligent voice assistance.
ORA 03 PRO+ offers an upgraded 63kWh battery with 260 miles of WLTP range with an enhanced level of comfort features. Available to lease from £286** a month, customers can enjoy features like heated, cooled and massage front seats, heated steering-wheel, panoramic sunroof, powered gesture tailgate, rear privacy glass and advanced automatic parking assistance.
GWM ORA has recently achieved a key sales milestone with 1,000 vehicles now on UK roads, achieved in just over one year of operations. Additionally, the brand has focused extensively on growing its core retail infrastructure in 2023 with 18 trusted retail partners now on-board.