GWM Malaysia has announced the opening of their two new 4S service centres located in Butterworth, Penang and Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.
Also present at the opening of the service centre in Seremban was Transport Minister, YB Anthony Loke Siew Fook. As part of the government’s commitment to a greener future, Loke recently mentioned that the proposed tax structure aims to encourage people to embrace electric vehicles (EVs).
The GWM Seremban 4S centre’s emphasis on EV adoption, which responds to the rising demand for GWM electric car owners in Negeri Sembilan, is one of its main selling points. The hub will provide the most recent lineup of GWM’s alternative fuel vehicles as well as after-sales service assistance, which is in keeping with GWM’s commitment to aiding Malaysia’s efforts to achieve carbon neutrality as early as 2050.
The sleek flagship Ora Good Cat from Great Wall Motor (GWM) was featured in new light at the Malaysia Autoshow 2023, currently taking place at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang.
The Coral Blue Ora Good Cat was parked in a camping setting and displayed a dynamic body kit and a rooftop cargo box, demonstrating the adaptability of the fully-electric car for both city driving and outdoor experiences.
With the emphasis on New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) which became part of a national policy in China in 2009, the carmakers in the country quickly began work on making the transition to electrified vehicles. Great Wall Motors (GWM), with its leadership in SUVs in China, worked hard to develop NEVs within its brands.
At Auto Shanghai 2023 this week, the carmaker is displaying a range of NEVs from its five major brands -HAVAL, TANK, ORA, POER, and WEY. This is to demonstrate its aim of a major player in the race to be the next leader in the field.
While the move towards electric vehicles (EVs) has been going on over the past decade, it has only recently gained more attention from the Malaysian government which sees increased use of EVs as one way to meet its carbon neutrality goal by 2050.
While promotion of EVs and providing incentives like tax exemption are approaches being taken, government agencies also need to have a greater understanding of these new energy vehicles in order to formulate the appropriate policies for years to come.
The auto industry is also playing its part to help in different aspects and GWM Malaysia, the local subsidiary of China’s Great Wall Motors, is among those keen to work closely with the authorities. As an example of the support it can give, GWM Malaysia recently presented an ORA GOOD CAT 500 Ultra to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) to use for test-drives over the next few months to learn more about EVs.
China’s auto industry goes back many decades but it was only in the 1980s, as the country’s economy opened up, that the industry began to expand. Numerous new car companies were established, largely with government support to help them get going, and apart from joint-ventures with foreign carmakers, there were also many that developed on their own.
In the auto industry, the name of the game is numbers – to achieve the biggest volumes possible so that economies of scale can push production costs down. To build up to the critical levels, aspects like quality and safety may not be as high a priority as producing as many vehicles as possible. It’s a normal evolutionary process in the auto industry and once the critical annual volume is reached, then attention can be given to other areas as increasing profits provide the financial resources for more R&D.
So it’s not unusual that the early cars from Chinese companies had low quality and it should be remembered that the Japanese and Koreans also went through that phase. In the 1960s, when the Japanese cars started to sell in noticeable numbers in Malaysia, they were considered fragile and thought to be ‘made from Milo tin can materials’, which was really a myth. But in time, they improved quality and moved so far ahead as to lead the industry in that aspect.
For the Chinese carmakers, the 2000s were a time of rapid growth and getting into world markets. While their vehicles were selling well in China and there was then little emphasis on safety, the same was not the case in other countries. Safety standards were well established and independent organizations like Euro NCAP and Germany’s TUV and ADAC conducted assessments on new vehicles which included crashing them.
The severely damaged Landwind X6 tested by Germany’s ADAC in 2005 increased the negative perception of the passive safety of Chinese vehicles.
The early Chinese cars exported to Europe had poor ratings then, and a SUV model called the Landwind X6 showed a shocking result in Euro NCAP’s crash test in 2005 when it was so severely damaged that it got zero stars. Though testing by some other organizations suggested that it was not all that bad, the negative publicity became associated with cars from China.
The need for better engineered cars with better protection for occupants saw the establishment of safety standards by the China Automotive Technology Research Centre in 2006. This was the start of C-NCAP (China’s New Car Assessment Program) which would eventually adopt international standards typically led by Euro NCAP. There is now a Global NCAP organization which coordinates and assists national and regional organizations in this field.
NCAP tests are not required by law in any country, but their results are of interest to car-buyers who will be better informed of the level of safety a model offers. Manufacturers therefore aim to achieve the best result – 5 stars – for their new models. During development, they are made aware of the various requirements in the tests and engineer their vehicles to meet or even exceed those requirements.
Many new models nowadays can score the maximum of 5 stars but some get less either because of their design or because they may not have sufficient protective capability or features. In some cases, reduced equipment may also mean a lower score, but the vehicle will also cost less. So it is up to the buyers to decide whether they value their lives enough to pay the extra for better safety or settle for a less safe car and save money instead.
The NCAP requirements or protocols are constantly evolving and are periodically updated with tougher requirements as new technologies become available and also to push manufacturers to make their cars safer. Thus a model which may have scored well in 2003 might not achieve the same result today because the requirements have become tougher. For example, in 2008, Euro NCAP (and other NCAPs followed later) made it a requirement that Electronic Stability Control (ESC) must be present to be able to get 5 stars. If a model scored well in all areas but had no ESC, it would get only 4 stars. This basically forced the industry to make ESC a standard feature before long, providing motorists with better active safety.
Another example is the provision of airbags for both front occupants. This was promoted by ASEAN NCAP for models sold in the region and before long, manufacturers made dual front airbags standard across the range.
The upgrading of protocols is done in discussion with the industry to ensure that sufficient time is given for carmakers to improve their engineering or further develop technologies that will make it possible to meet new tests. There is also the cost factor as imposition of new technology too fast can make cars more expensive.
In the case of China, C-NCAP (which set standards) was behind the global NCAP standards at the start. However, by 2012, the protocols were upgraded to become close to what Euro NCAP had. For example, the main frontal offset impact speed was increased from 56 km/h to 64 km/h, and there was a general increase in the thresholds for injury scores of the dummies.
By 2018, the vehicles that were made in China and also the regulations set by the authorities were comparable to those in Europe. This meant that Chinese vehicles had safety standards that could be considered as world-class, with most of the models sold globally being able to match those from other makes.
A recent example of this achievement is with the latest HAVAL H6 from GWM (Great Wall Motors). The new SUV was given a 5-star rating by ANCAP, the NCAP organization for the Australasian region. Even more impressive was that the model had met ANCAP’s latest 2022 protocols which are tougher.
“This is GWM’s first new HAVAL SUV model to the Australasian market for a number of years. Delivering a 5-star vehicle to the market – against ANCAP’s latest 2022 protocols – demonstrates the brand has kept pace with the latest ANCAP safety standards and consumer safety expectations,” said ANCAP’s CEO, Carla Hoorweg.
The H6 achieved excellent results in 4 aspects – Adult Occupant Protection (AOP), Child Occupant Protection (COP), Safety Assist and Vulnerable Road-User Protection, with scores of 90%, 88%, 81% and 73%, respectively.
Details of the results showed that the H6 got a ‘GOOD’ grade in AOP. It has got a full score in tests such as side impact, oblique pole, whiplash protection, and rescue and extrication. In addition to the 70%+ high-strength steel vehicle frame, the vehicle is also equipped with an omnidirectional airbag that can effectively protect front and rear passengers from injury during a crash.
In terms of COP, the H6 also did very well. It received a full score in dynamic test (side) due to the lower ISOFIX anchorages and top tether anchorages installed in the rear seat. These further strengthen the connection between the childseat and the vehicle body, thus providing better safety protection for children.
Vulnerable Road User Protection is something which GWM would have given attention to earlier because C-NCAP had already been looking into it for some years now. The China In-Depth Accident Study (CIDAS) which was developed like Germany’s GIDAS identified that around 22% of serious crashes involved pedestrians. This led C-NCAP to also evaluate vehicles to rate how well pedestrians were protected in a collision.
The H6 also performed well in this aspect, thanks to features like an energy-absorbing space in the front bumper. Also, the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system can detect pedestrians and cyclists ahead and automatically brake the car if the driver does not take action to prevent it.
It’s not explained how or why Great Wall Motors (GWM) chose to name its technology platform L.E.M.O.N, a name which has a negative meaning when associated with cars. But since it appeared in the third generation of the Chinese company’s Haval H6 SUV in 2020, the platform has been widely publicised in positive terms.
The platform has been developed in-house by GWM and light weight (that could be what the ‘L’ stands for in L.E.M.O.N.) is one of its strong points. In addition to having an all-aluminium body to reduce vehicle weight, there is also a hot-stamped one-piece door ring solution to further cut the kilograms. More significantly, some new models used more than 75% of high-strength steel as well.
The lightweight aspect cannot be understated and to achieve it, GWM engineers made structural improvements, adjusting the material arrangement path and fully improving the torsion resistance and roof crush strength.
At the inception phase of the project, GWM took advantage of simulation topology and MDO (multidisciplinary design) to identify the most effective material arrangement path that meets performance needs like safety and rigidity. After fully improving the body structure, the L.E.M.O.N. Platform was strengthened by using different materials according to the load conditions at different places.
Instead of traditional spot welding of separate parts, the door structure is an integrated hot stamped part.
Traditional spot-welding spliced door ring is replaced by integrated hot stamping door ring, which helps remove the centralized collision stress at the joint position along the force transferring path, reduce the body intrusion in the collision, and improve the passenger safety in 25% small overlapping collision conditions.
This obviously has significant benefits in terms of safety and the L.E.M.O.N. Platform has been engineered with this as one of the objectives. GWM engineers have made sure it will be suitable for global application, in Germany where there are no speed limits as well as in the Middle East where the environment is extremely hot.
It can also achieve NCAP 5-star ratings and meet the highest rating of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in North America. The 360° panoramic image system is used to protect drivers’ safety that can provide a high-definition display without blind areas to users, helping them observe surrounding road conditions and ensure all-around driving safety.
The platform can be used with four types of powertrains – Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), Hybrid, Battery Electric and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric. The hybrid electric powertrain is available in both DHT and P2/P2+P4 architectures. The DHT architecture is more suitable for urban commuting because of longer endurance mileage and low energy consumption. For example, the HAVAL H6 Hybrid with this architecture has a fuel-saving rate of 48 – 50%, with a pure electric endurance mileage of 200 kms, it is claimed.
Latest Haval H6 SUV is one of the models sold globally which sits on the L.E.M.O.N. platform.
Regardless of the powertrain used, a lighter vehicle will definitely provide benefits in terms of fuel efficiency. GWM’s extensive tests show that if a car’s kerb weight is decreased by 100 kgs, the fuel consumption per 100 kilometres can decrease by 0.3 litre – 0.6 litre. Additionally, the studies also found that carbon dioxide emissions will decrease by about 5 gms per kilometre.
This has been proven with the latest Haval H6 which has had a 100-kg drop in weight compared to the previous generation. Its fuel economy has improved by 14.5%, with fuel consumption per 100 kilometres down to 6.6 litres. If a driver travels 30,000 kms a year, fuel-savings could be 180 litres.
Needless to say, a light vehicle will have better straightline performance and a weight reduction of 10% can see acceleration improving by 8%, while the braking distance can decrease by 5%.
Ora Goodcat also rides on the L.E.M.O.N. platform.
Currently, the models built on the L.E.M.O.N. Platform are latest Haval H6, Dargo, Jolion and ORA Goodcat, all of which are being sold globally.
The new Great Wall Motors (GWM) factory at Tula, 193 kms south of Moscow in Russia, which began operations this month is the largest overseas vehicle manufacturing facility built by a Chinese automobile enterprise. It represents a new stage of development for GWM, especially for its Haval brand, in the Russian market. It is a crucial part of the ‘HAVAL 5-2-1 Globalization Strategy’ to achieve an annual sales volume of 2 million units within 5 years and become the global No.1 professional SUV brand.
The primary task of Tula Factory is to meet demand in Russia and neighbouring markets. The factory will then export more to Eastern European countries and serve as a major production base when Haval further develops the mainstream European markets.
Safe, efficient and environment-friendly
The Tula Factory has advanced manufacturing technology and tooling equipment for the 4 major production processes of stamping, welding, painting and assembly. Numerous measures have been included to ensure that the whole production process safe, efficient and environment-friendly. For example, the stamping workshop is equipped with a full-automatic closed type production line with 4 sequences. An ABB 7-axis robot is applied to transport the parts and an automatic rapid die change system is adopted to realize safe and efficient production.
The welding workshop is equipped with a large number of robots for speed and high productivity. The automation rate of main welding line is 100%, and that of sub-welding line is 40%. At the same time, NBG multi-model automatic switching flexible production line is installed for automatic switching of 3 models, with the new F7 being one of them. The F7 will be launched in Russia as the first global car of Chinese automobile brands.
The new F7 SUV has been developed to suit the needs of Russian customers. It will be offered with 1.5-litre or 2.0-litre GDIT engines and 7-speed automatic transmissions as well as all-wheel drive. It is 4620 mm long and 1846 mm wide, which places its body size between the Kia Sorento and Honda CR-V.
‘Bridgehead’ to expansion overseas
”With the completion of the Global Factory, Tula will become the ‘bridgehead’ of Great Wall Motors to expand overseas market. In the future development, Haval must go global to create globally competitive products, and build a globally influential brand as a global SUV leader,” said GWM’s Chairman, Wei Jianjun.
After 15 years of development, Russia has become one of the most mature overseas markets of Haval brand and the point of strength in its strategy. At present, there are more than 100,000 Haval vehicles in the market. By the end of 2018, there were 35 distributors in Russia and the number is to approximately double by the end of this year.
GWM or Great Wall Motors, has officially released an independent brand of new energy vehicles – ORA. It is the first mainstream car maker to perform brand management of the new energy car business. iQ, the first model of ORA will be launched in Chengdu Auto Show. Following the announcement of the joint venture with BMW it is another significant move made by GWM in the new energy sector.
The Vice President of GWM and General Manager of ORA, Ning Shuyong said, “Ten years ago GWM established a research group of new energy vehicles, and made layout and devotion to R&D. GWM insists on positive research and development of new energy vehicles, instead of changing from oil into electricity or making policy cars. More consideration is given to the healthy development of the new energy vehicle market after the policy retreats.”
ORA: ‘New Generation Electric Car’ of New Urban Youth
GWM has named the new energy brand ORA in a bid to commemorate the world’s famous mathematician- Mr. Euler. Mr. Euler is well known for his ‘Euler’s Theorem’ and ‘Euler’s Formula’. He has not only made great contributions to mathematics, but also moved mathematics forward into physical field, including ballistics, geostatics, hydromechanics, etc. GWM decided to name its new energy vehicle after ‘Euler’ because mathematics is the foundation of human scientific and technological innovation, and the core and premise of auto design, research and development. Those who are not good at mathematics cannot make good automobiles. ‘ORA’ implies that GWM will continue to be meticulous and insist on making good automobiles.
ORA is the combination of Open, Reliable and Alternative:
Open means open and win-win business mode;
Reliable means being reliable, high-quality, motivation and mileage free of anxiety;
Alternative means unconventional, intelligent network connection and automatic drive for pure electricity.
ORA brand logo derives from the exclamation mark, which means to salute and greet to salute Mr. Euler, to greet users and the world. ORA hopes to bring surprise to people, and represents GWM’s determination to create amazing products for users at the same time.
ORA is positioned as a new generation of electric car. Different from traditional car-making enterprises and new car-making enterprises making power like changing from oil into electricity with difficult delivery and high pricing, ORA has a profound car-making accumulation and control of quality and safety which are not available in the new car-making enterprises. At the same time, it is an independent brand of new energy in traditional car-making enterprises, integrating the current leading intelligent network connection technologies.
ORA is specially made for urban travel advocating more stylish, smarter and safer ways to travel. ORA’s vision is to become a No.1 brand in electric cars. ORA’s targeted users are the new generation of urban youth who have an open, friendly, happy and confident attitude to life, who love challenges, who are reliable and responsible, who have their own value judgments about life and work, who don’t go with the flow, and who are the slash youth of new urban life.
Brand-New ME Platform Builds Three Major Models
In the past ten years, GWM has invested over 10 billion RMB to research the development of cutting-edge technologies such as new energy, intelligent network connection and automatic drive, to create an exclusive platform and products for new energy. ORA pursue “Being the best at the same level”. As the exclusive pure electric platform created by GWM for ORA, ME platform combines the advanced technology of the current intelligent network connection and makes substantial breakthroughs in space, safety and efficiency ranging from the chassis to interior and exterior decorations.
Firstly, ORA can maximize the wheelbase to greatly enlarge the back space of the car under the condition of the shortest car body at the same class. Secondly, safety is taken as the core: in terms of passive safety, the proportion of high strength steel body is over 60% and as many as 8 pieces of hot modeled steel panels are applied; in terms of active safety, the full series are equipped with 6 air bags, AEB system and L4 level driving assistance system. For the electricity safety, conventional puncture, extrusion and fall conditions are subject to strict testing, and the vehicles can be powered off within 60 milliseconds after vehicle collision.
ME platform is of lightweight design under the premise of ensuring safety. In terms of motivation, the density of the highly integrated electrical driven system used by ME platform will reach 160Wh/kg. The vehicle can be driven for about 10km per KWh based on the system efficiency up to 97%.
Based on ME pure electric platform, ORA has created three products: iQ, R1 and R2. iQ is the first model of ORA. It is positioned as a new generation of pure electric compact crossover SUV which is equipped with Farasis ternary lithium-ion power battery and BorgWarner permanent magnet synchronous motor, with comprehensive extended range of 360 Km. The overall design style of iQ is concise, fashionable and full of a sense of the future. The interior design with beauty of simplicity is favored by young people today due to its penetration design of left and right air conditioning vents, and the sense of suspension created between the center console and the leather sole. The advantages, such as big back seat space, and the design and convenience of hatchback luggage trunk, are more obvious than those of the same type of electric cars.
The R series models has the lightest and the longest extended range, the largest space, the finest workmanship and the most intelligent interconnection in the same level of cars. The lovely and retro ORA R1 is positioned as a new generation electric car due to its fashionable and individualistic, nifty and lovely design style. The space mascot ORA R2 is positioned as the more intelligent electric car due to its cute appearance and little more science fiction.
The new energy strategy of GWM started its layout and R&D as early as 10 years ago, incorporating the technologies of multiple countries around the world such as China, German, Japan, Austria and Korea, and common wisdom of modeling experts. Thus, ORA products meet global sales standards.
Distribution of New Energy and Creation of Ecosphere
According to the planning, GWM will create four platforms and four brands, and derive many products based on such four platforms by adopting three technical routes: hybrid + pure electric + hydrogen fuel.
Besides ME platform, high-end plug-in hybrid platform-Pi4 platform has been applied in plug-in hybrid model – WEY P8. Its core is to support hybrid two-axis drive technology. The front and rear axles can be completely decoupled to realize three driving models including front drive, rear drive and four-wheel drive. The hydrogen-powered XEV platform is a special platform for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Due to a certain commonality between parts and power system layout of electric cars and fuel-cell vehicles, a common platform for electric cars and fuel-cell vehicles will be developed in XEV project, so that the pure electric cars and fuel-cell vehicles of GWM can be both produced by such platform in the future. Furthermore, the joint venture between GWM and BMW will also create a new platform.
As the sole member of the Hydrogen Council in Chinese automobile brand, GWM has established a hydrogen fuel R&D center and created a hydrogen power XEV project platform. The first new hydrogen fuel car out of the platform will be launched before 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
The coming automobile technology and transportation technology will pay more attention to the connection of people, vehicles, roads, social environment, and integrate management and control. GWM adheres to the principles of openness and win-win cooperation in the field of intelligent connection and automatic drive, and has cooperated with Huawei in 5G field and with Baidu in automatic drive field.
In terms of automatic drive, GWM has established an automatic driving test field in Xushui Base which is 34.6 Km away from the core zone of Xiong’an New Area. The testing environment has V2X communication network like 5G/LTE-V/DSRC, high-precision maps and differential navigation base station, covering crossroads, five-fork roads, ring roads, S bents, simulated flyovers, obstacle courses and other special roads. Urban and suburban traffic conditions can be fully simulated in more than 200 kinds of early planning application scenes.
The world auto industry is entering into an era of truly subversive innovation. GWM launches ‘ORA’ brand as its starting point and penetrates into the field of new energy vehicles in full stride. It is the choice of the times and the inevitability of historical development. GWM, which has always insisted on making automobiles steadfastly, will promise to the times that it will bring more surprises to users and the market with technical innovation.
