Great Wall Motors Showcases Ora R1, World’s Most Affordable Electric Car, At Auto Expo 2020

The R1 offers a range of over 300km and a top-speed of 100kmph

• The Ora R1 is a compact EV from Great Wall Motors, launched in China in 2019.

• With government subsidies, the R1 is priced at the equivalent of Rs 6.5 lakh.

• The R1 long-range variant uses a 33kWh battery for a claimed range of 350km.

• The ORA R1 in China gets features like a 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system with connected car features.

• GWM is unlikely to launch the Ora R1 in India anytime soon.

As part of Great Wall Motors’ debut showcase at Auto Expo 2020, the Chinese carmaker showcased the world’s most affordable EV, the Ora R1. It is a small electric vehicle priced at the equivalent of Rs 6.5 lakh in its local market. What’s even more impressive is the fact that this little EV offers a claimed range of upto 351km.

The R1 is a four-door compact hatchback built to be a mass-market commuter EV. It was launched in China at the Beijing Auto Show in 2019. Ora is the EV division of Great Wall Motors (GWM). The base-spec R1 gets a 28.5kWh battery for a claimed range of 300km while the long range variant uses a 33kWh for a claimed range of over 350km. Its efficiency is courtesy of its 48PS/125Nm electric motor capable of taking the hatch to a top speed of just 100kmph. Ora has been able to position the R1 as the world’s most affordable electric vehicle thanks to the heavy subsidies offered on EVs by the Chinese government.

At first glance, its exterior design seems to be heavily influenced by the Honda e, which too is a cute and small EV. However, the Ora R1 is built to be affordable. In some ways, it is the Tata Nano of the EV revolution, which makes it an attractive proposition in developing countries like India. Here’s how it sizes up in comparison to some of India’s small car offerings:

As you can tell from the comparison above, the Ora R1 is still bigger and pricier than the likes of the Maruti Alto and Datsun redi-GO. But it is smaller than the likes of the Maruti Wagon R, which will form the basis of Maruti’s affordable EV.

In terms of features, the Ora R1 is equipped with features like a 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system with connected car technology, tyre pressure monitoring system, reverse parking sensors and camera. 

Despite the budget tag, it gets multiple airbags, ESP, traction control, hill ascent control, adaptive braking system and electronic parking brake. While GWM will be entering the Indian market with a range of Haval SUVs, the likes of the ORA R1 electric compact are unlikely to be launched in India anytime soon.