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The GWM Ora 03 has become one of the UK’s cheapest electric cars at £21,245, after the Chinese brand cut the model’s price by £3750 to match the UK government’s new Electric Car Grant.

The ECG, announced last week, will discount new EVs (priced below £37,000) by either £3750 or £1500. These bandings will, however, depend on the cleanliness of the energy grid in the countries both where the EVs are assembled and where their batteries are manufactured. And to qualify for a discount in the first instance, a vehicle’s manufacturer must also be signed up to the Science Based Targets Initiative.

These criteria have been described by industry insiders as a back-door method of excluding Chinese EVs from any grants while propping up those made in the UK and Europe – although the government has yet to publish a list of qualifying models.

In response, some Chinese brands have introduced their own £3750 discounts on their EVs. Leapmotor was first, making its T03 city car the cheapest EV on sale in the UK, and GWM has now followed suit with the Ora 03.

It means the Ora 03 now starts at £21,245, rather than the previous £24,995, undercutting the Citroën ë-C3 (£22,095), Renault 5 (£22,995) and Hyundai Inster (£23,505).

It is possible, however, that those cars will become cheaper than the Ora 03 once the government publishes its list of cars approved for the ECG.

The mid-rung Ora 03 Pro, with a 260-mile range, has been cut to £25,245, while the range-topping Ora 03 GT has dropped to £29,245.

GWM said the discount can also be used as a deposit contribution on a PCP finance deal, requiring a smaller outlay from the buyer to access 0% APR rates.

The move is almost certainly intended to boost sales of the Ora 03, which has struggled to generate much sales traction since its UK launch in late 2022 (as the Ora Funky Cat).

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, GWM sold 193 cars in the UK during the first half of this year, down from 895 over the same period in 2024.

Mercedes-Benz will continue producing the current A-Class hatchback until at least 2028.

The move comes despite repeated statements from CEO Ola Källenius that the popular hatchback, along with the B-Class MPV, would cease production at the end of 2025, bringing to an end two generations of models based on the company’s MFA platform.

Mercedes originally touted a future compact car strategy built around four new models, all based on the new MMA platform: the CLA, CLA Shooting Brake, GLA and GLB - all of which will offer a choice of combustion and electrified drivetrains.

However, Mercedes sources suggest they will now be supported by an upgraded version of today’s A-Class hatchback, of which production is claimed to have been extended by up to three years.

The decision is understood to have been driven by continued demand for the seven-year-old ICE model, in combination with a slower than expected take up of Mercedes' newer electric models.

Production of the A-Class Saloon ended earlier this year. Production of the A-Class hatchback is now expected to continue beyond the introduction of EU7 emissions regulations in late 2026, although it remains unclear whether existing petrol and diesel engines will be adapted to meet the new standards.

Autocar understands that the A35 and A45 AMG hot hatches will be taken off sale because their M139 2.0-litre turbocharged engine does not comply with EU7, although there is not currently a time frame on when this will happen.

Production is likely to shift to the Kecskemét plant in Hungary, as the Rastatt factory where it is currently produced has been repurposed for production of the new CLA and CLA Shooting Brake.

The future of the B-Class remains uncertain, but Autocar understands Mercedes will stick to its original plan and cease production of the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer rival at the end of 2025.

The extension of the A-Class hatchback’s model cycle coincides with a broader reshuffle of Mercedes' compact car line-up.

Following the launch of the CLA, the CLA Shooting Brake is set to go on sale in the UK before the end of the year. The EQB will also bow out by the end of 2025. A new generation of the GLB, to be sold with the choice of ICE and electric drivetrains, is scheduled to begin production in Hungary in 2026.

The next-generation GLA will follow as the final MMA-based compact model, arriving in late 2026 to replace both the existing GLA and electric EQA.

While no successor to the A-Class is planned on the MMA platform, its prolonged production life reflects Mercedes' need to sustain compact car sales amid a broader shift toward electrification and high-margin luxury segments.

In 2019, the brand’s compact car range peaked at 667,000 global sales. In 2024, that figure had declined to 534,800.

In a statement sent to Autocar, Mercedes-Benz said: "The A-Class continues to enjoy high demand among our customers, and we are currently in the lifecycle of this vehicle. Recently, the series was updated and enhanced with an extensive facelift - making this vehicle even more desirable for our customers. We do not comment on phase-out dates or portfolio decisions."

Alpine is still developing larger and more upmarket electric cars to crown its line-up, despite having put its plans to enter the US market on ice. 

The Renault-owned performance brand had planned a US launch for 2027 as part of its strategy to achieve 150,000 annual sales by 2030 but postponed the plans indefinitely after the Trump administration's imposition of a 25% import tariff on all European-built cars.

Key to its success in the US were to be a range of larger models to break into the D- and E-segments. These are understood to have included a Porsche Cayenne rival to sit above the Macan-sized A390, plus a further two E-segment cars by 2030 - possibly another SUV and a saloon in the vein of the Lotus Emeya.

Alpine's postponement of plans to launch in the US, the most important global market for these range-topping models, raised questions over their continued viability. But while the brand has not indicated that it is back on track for a Stateside rollout, it is still developing bigger cars as part of a push to bolster its premium positioning. 

Speaking to reporters at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the company's chief designer, Antony Villain, said Alpine's goal is "more and more to move up now, rather to go down", so it will not launch any models smaller or more affordable than the A290 hot hatchback. Instead, it will shift its focus to larger and more profitable models.

Villain said: "We need something in the D- or E-segment, not especially for Europe, because Europe is still more a C-segment market. But if we want to expand more globally, we will need, probably, bigger cars.

"The US was in our plan. Of course with the situation, we put it on hold but the US is still the biggest market for sports cars - but not only: there are some other countries where they look for bigger cars. We have to find our ways, but yes we are still working on that."

Villain did not say which markets outside of the US and Europe the brand is now targeting with its new flagship models but said they will play an important role in Alpine's "emancipation" from its parent, Renault.

"Five years ago, Alpine was like a 13-year-old kid – needing money from their parents, a bit joyful and not fully serious," he said. "Now it's like we are becoming 18: we will need to find a job, make our own money, develop our own network - a bit more serious. But not too much.

"So it's emancipation, but still being in a group, because we have the chance to have a strong group behind us and that's something really strong. It's always playing between on which topics we need to be totally independent, and on which ones we really need to have the back office and the group behind us."

Following the launch of the new A390, Alpine is focusing on development of the electric A110 ahead of its arrival next year. It has not given any firm clues to models beyond that, but they will almost certainly be based on a variant of the Renault Group's AMPR EV architecture, rather than the A110 EV's purpose-built sports car platform. 

They will form part of a seven-car 'Dream Garage' line-up of EVs that Alpine plans to launch by 2030, following the A290, A390, A110 and a four-seat sports coupé called the A310.

Pressed for details about when the first of this new larger family will arrive, Villain said "it's not cooked" but "we are working on it today".