Not a ‘funky cat’ after all
Great Wall Motor, GWM for short, turns that abbreviation into a brand name under which Wey and Ora cars are marketed in Europe. This sheds some light on a rather obscure matter, which will also be important for the Netherlands from next year.
This week we were introduced to the Wey 03, as the European version of the SUV available in its home country of China as Wey Latte is called. That plug-in was alternately referred to as ‘Wey 03’ and ‘GWM Wey 03’ in the press release, with ‘GWM’ standing for parent company Great Wall Motors. That company is now shedding some light on the matter: in Europe, the cars of the Chinese brands Wey and Ora are sold under the brand name GWM. So Wey and Ora are sub-brands here, which will keep their own logo.
Different models are distinguished by two numbers for both sub-brands, the first of which is always a ‘0’. The Wey Latte/Coffee 02 becomes the GWM Wey 03, the Coffee 01 becomes the GWM Wey 05. Ora’s striking models go through life in a similar way: the Ora Funky Cat becomes the GWM Ora 03 and the Ora Lightning Cat becomes the GWM Ora 07. To be fair, the new name will be seen as ‘normal’ a lot more often in Europe than the old one.
To the Netherlands in 2024
The new policy will take effect in 2024. That is relevant, because from next year GWM also wants to work in the Netherlands. In addition to our country, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Iceland and Bulgaria are also added to the list. GWM is already active in Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden and Israel.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl