Connolly Motor Group invests €500,000 in new showroom to showcase arrival of ORA electric vehicles in Ireland.
Ten new jobs are to be created in Galway as the Connolly Motor Group introduces a pioneering new electric car brand to the West of Ireland.
The 10 new roles will bring Connolly Motor Group’s total headcount to 320 across its sites in Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal. It will start recruitment immediately.
“The ORA Funky Cat is a game-changer for the EV market and Connolly Motor Group is thrilled to be among the first to bring it to the market in Ireland”
The ORA ‘Funky Cat’ is a new fully-electric vehicle from Great Wall Motors (GWM), one of China’s oldest car manufacturers. The ORA has just been launched into the Irish market in recent weeks.
This car purrs
There will be three ORA dealers in Ireland, with Connolly Motor Group covering the West of the country from a new state-of-the-art showroom in Galway. The car is now currently available to view, test drive and buy at Connolly’s in Galway. The other two dealerships will be in Cork and Dublin.
Connolly Motor Group invested €0.5m in the new showroom which is housed in a previously vacant building beside its current site at Briarhill Business Park in Ballybrit, Galway.
These are stylish and high-spec cars which offer features such as facial and voice recognition, 360-degree cameras for parking, wireless phone charging, massaging and heated front seats as well as a heated steering wheel. Prices start from €33,495.
There are two models of Funky Cat – the 300 Pro which has a range of 310km and the 400 Pro+ which has a range of 420km. Both can be charged to 80% in around 48 minutes.
The ORA Funky Cat also won Euro NCAP’s best-in-class 2022 award in the Small Family Car Category.
“The ORA Funky Cat is a game-changer for the EV market and Connolly Motor Group is thrilled to be among the first to bring it to the market in Ireland,” Connolly Motor Group ORA General Manager Tom Raftery said.
“This is a premium, quality, high tech car at an affordable price for a fully electric model that has so much character and the highest spec in terms of looks and technology.
“We are also delighted that we will soon be welcoming more team members to the Connolly Motor Group team and are proud of the further development of our Ballybrit site to accommodate the new ORA brand. We look forward to welcoming car lovers onsite from Wednesday to test drive the new Funky Cat!”
Image at top: Tom Raftery, general manager, GWM Ora Connolly’s; Pat Ryan; managing director GWM ORA Ireland; Kevin Hilliard, brand director GWM ORA; and Donald Egan, Sales Manager GWM ORA Connolly’s
