Former Holden home now making Chinese cars bound for Australia! 2026 GWM Ora electric car cops tech tune-up, battery boost, greater flexibility and new colour choices to fight BYD Dolphin, Cupra Born and MG MG4

After more than two years in market here GWM’s compact, pure-electric Ora hatch has been upgraded with improvements to battery power, additional tech, revised pricing and a ground-breaking switch in production from China to Thailand.

With just under 400 examples registered to the end of July this year, year-on-year Ora sales are down close to 40 per cent. So, while competitors like the MG MG4 sell in the thousands (2429 units YTD) some attention to the car’s price and specification would appear to be in order.

Headline news is a manufacturing switch from China to Thailand. Previously, Australian Ora production came out of GWM’s Taizhou ‘Smart’ facility north-west of Shanghai, but has now shifted to its plant in Rayon Thailand, south-east of Bangkok.

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GWM purchased the Rayong factory from GM in 2020 and began producing the Ora there in late 2021. It’s where Holden’s Colorado ute was once built, with GWM claiming its Ora output as “the first instance of a Chinese Original Equipment Manufacturer mass-producing an electric vehicle outside of China”.

The Ora range will now consist of Lux and GT grades with an additional one-off run of 30 ‘Aurora Green’-only Ultra models alongside initially.

Entry-price of $35,990 drive-away for the Ora Lux is unchanged from the outgoing Ora Standard Range, while the top-spec GT drops over 10 per cent from $43,990 D/A to $38,990 D/A. The Ultra limited edition splits them at $37,990 D/A.

A new, in-house developed 57.7kWh Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery is fitted across the board, replacing the previous 48kWh Standard Range and 63kWh Extended Range packs. So, a lift for the entry model and a drop for the GT. Claimed range is “up to” 400km for the Lux and 380km for the GT.

2026 GWM Ora

According to GWM the updated battery pack has undergone 56 separate tests to verify safety, performance, and reliability as well as durability trials including vibration, corrosion, flooded road conditions, salt mist exposure, water immersion and high-pressure hot water blasting.

The front-mounted 126kW/250Nm motor is unchanged, driving the front wheels with the same 9.0 second 0–100km/h claim. WLTP-rated energy consumption is 16kWh/100km for the Lux/Ultra and 17.7kWh/100km for the GT.

Spec additions include V2L (Vehicle-to-Load) capability with a maximum 6.0kW output for running and/or charging electrical tools and appliances, the ‘GWM Telematics’ app and a heat pump air conditioning system for better cold-weather efficiency and improved range.

2026 GWM Ora

The Telematics app allows live charge monitoring, remote vehicle control, geo-fencing alerts and scheduled charging, the latter to help owners access cheaper off-peak electricity rates.

There’s also USB-C charging (taking over from USB-A) and a revised colour palette including a ‘black-on-black option (‘Sunblack’ exterior with matching roof).

2026 GWM Ora: