According to GWM, Ora stands for "open, reliable and alternative", while also paying homage to Leonhard Euler, a notable Swiss mathematician whose surname is phonetically translated as "Oula" in Mandarin Chinese.

[1] Great Wall Motors announced the creation of the new Ora brand, dedicated to a new line of electric cars, in May 2018.

[2] At the time, the brand was launched with two initial models: the crossover iQ5 (later iQ) and city car R1 (later Black Cat).

[4] The third Ora model R2 (later White Cat) was first previewed in June 2019,[5] with production officially beginning in July 2020.

[6] The Ora brand entered Europe, Thailand, Malaysia, South Africa and Australia in late 2022, Brazil in 2023, and Brunei in 8 December 2023.