The Great Wall Motor R1 EV is an affordable electric car that packs a lot of intelligent features. Here is what this cute EV is all about.
Background
Great Wall Motor (GWM) made their debut in India at the Auto Expo 2020 and displayed a variety of their products. GWM are a Chinese manufacturer and have four brands under them – Haval (SUVs), Ora (EVs), Wey (Luxury SUVs) and GWM Pickup. At the Auto Expo 2020, the manufacturers displayed many Haval SUVs and alongside it was the R1 EV. The Great Wall Motor R1 EV is sold as the ORA R1 EV in China but the manufacturers will probably sell it as the GWM R1 EV in India.
Design
The design of this EV is based on a neo-retro concept and resembles the Honda Urban EV concept. The design language is simple and minimalistic. It gets round LED headlights and LED fog lamps in the front while there are square-shaped taillights at the rear. The electronically adjustable ORVMs are mounted with turn indicators. It gets a closed-grille in the front, alloy wheels and dual-tone colour schemes as standard.
Electric Motor
The information we have for now is that the GWM R1 EV uses a 33 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that powers a 33 kW electric motor. The EV is based on the company’s ME platform and has given it a long driving range of over 300 km that has been approved by the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC). This is also due to the fact that the GWM R1 EV has a lightweight of just 990 kg. The long driving range offered is a promising aspect when it comes to looking for a budget EV.
Features
Apart from this, the GWM R1 EV will be packed with all the important connectivity features, safety features and applications to make it easier for a user to operate. GWM also say that the ME exclusive electric platform adopts the concept of a short body with a long wheelbase which in turn gives a larger interior space.
Expected Price
The GWM R1 EV in China is priced between 59,800 Yuan and ¥ 77,800 Yuan (Rs 6.32 lakh and Rs 8.23 lakh). If it is brought to India at the same price it will be one of the cheapest electric cars to be offered in the market. We can expect it to launch mid-2021 and with a competitive price tag it will be a strong contender in the EV space.
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