The global chip shortage hasn't shown any sign of abating
It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches ... chips.
A dealer of ORA, a new energy vehicle maker belonging to Great Wall Motor, in Beijing told business news portal Lanjinger.com recently that it had stopped taking orders starting February 15 for two models, Black Cat and White Cat, as the NEV brand suspended their production.
The only model in the showroom is the ORA Good Cat.
A spokesperson from ORA said the carmaker, who specializes in four-seater compact vehicles, didn't halt production but just stopped accepting orders for these two models amid a shortage of core components such as chips.
ORA contributed most of Great Wall Motor's EV delivery. The Hebei-based auto giant was forced to extend the delivery time, citing a huge backlog, a decision that drew flak from dissatisfied buyers. Media reported that the auto producer has "coordinated internal resources" to meet the production schedule for outstanding orders.
EqualOcean reported earlier that GWM was struggling to ramp up production for some models.
The official website of ORA shows four models on sale, including White Cat, Black Cat, Good Cat and Good Cat GT. Of the Cat series, the White Cat and Black Cat are entry-level models, with the prices ranging from CNY 71,800 to CNY 88,800 (USD 11,338 to USD 14,022) and CNY 68,800 to CNY 84,800 (USD 10,864 to USD 13,390), respectively.
ORA sold 13,229 units in January, 9,020 of which came from Good Cat. The Black Cat and White Cat models made up the remaining 4,209 units. The cumulative sales of ORA in 2021 was about 135,000 units, up 140% year on year. Good Cat and Black Cat represented 38% and 49% of the total, respectively.
ORA revealed earlier that its product pipelines contain two new models Ballet Cat and Lightning Cat due to be launched this year together. The former will start to accept pre-sale orders in early March, priced at around CNY 200,000.