Ora 03 maker GWM to launch Haval SUVs in UK next year

Great Wall Motor, the Chinese company behind the Ora Funky Cat, will expand its UK portfolio next year with the introduction of SUV brand Haval. 

Having launched the Ora brand in 2022 with the electric hatchback (renamed the GWM Ora 03 last year), it’s now moving to “provide a wider choice for customers as it enhances its overall product offering”. 

Previously officially named GWM Ora, the company will now rebrand as simply GWM in the UK, with all its dealers adopting a new look to suit by mid-February 2025.

The first Haval model to arrive in UK showrooms will be the Jolion Pro, a hybrid SUV that’s roughly the same size as the Nissan X-Trail and Kia Sorento. 

It’s powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor within a seven-speed automatic gearbox, for a combined 188bhp and 277lb ft of torque.

GWM quotes a 0-62mph time of 8.5sec and claims the Jolion Pro hybrid can achieve an average of 55mpg.

The cabin is characteristically minimalist, with the dashboard topped by a 12.3in central touchscreen and a digital gauge cluster.

There is a panel of physical buttons below the screen, though, and several more on the steering wheel and centre console. 

Pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but a starting price in the mid-£30,000s would put it on a par with the likes of the BYD Seal U and Jaecoo 7 hybrid SUVs. 

GWM said the Jolion Pro had already “proven hugely successful in markets like Australia” and promised further details of UK specification in the coming weeks. 

The company will be hoping that the addition of a new line of hybrid SUVs will boost its footprint in the UK, having sold just 3000 examples of the Funk Cat/Ora 03 since launch. 

GWM is the latest of many global car makers to turn to hybrids as a means of bolstering sales amid a downturn in demand for EVs in Europe. 

BYD, for example, has confirmed plans to launch three new plug-hybrid models in Europe in 2025, having initially launched with a five-strong EV line-up.

GWM UK’s managing director, Toby Marshall, hailed the arrival of Haval as “a new era for GWM in the UK”.

“With the introduction of Haval under the GWM umbrella, we are able to offer customers a very competitively priced and well-specified petrol hybrid car for those that want to make their first step toward electrification,” he said.

In addition to Ora and Haval, GWM sells cars under the Poer, Tank and Wey brands in China. It hasn’t yet confirmed plans to bring any of those here but said the move to being known as just GWM leaves space for “any future GWM product” to be sold alongside the Ora 03 and Jolion Pro in dealers.