Great Wall Motor called Europe “the most important market for us outside China”, and the WEY Coffee 01 was the car it chose to lead with. GWM announced the official European launch of its flagship at the Paris Motor Show, on a stand in Pavilion 6 that it shared between its WEY and Ora brands.
Germany came first. Ordering through the My-WEY app opened in November 2022, and Emil Frey Group opened the points of sale. GWM’s release named France and Germany as its most important European markets.
Chrome Pins And A Paris Greeting
Our photographs, all taken on press day, show a white Coffee 01 on a pale floor. It has a tall grille filled with vertical chrome pins, slim LED headlights, a black plate reading “WEY Coffee 01” and a lower bumper trimmed in chrome.
The car sits on large multi-spoke alloy wheels, with a few visitors around it in the background. Behind it hang a “Salut Paris” sign and a “The Way Forward” panel.
A Battery Most Plug-Ins Don’t Carry
The headline number is the battery. At 41.8 kWh, electrive called it unusually large for a plug-in hybrid, and GWM quoted a WLTP electric range of up to 146 km. Total range is more than 800 km, according to GWM.
The Coffee 01 is a four-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid. electrive reported a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine rated at 150 kW and two electric motors of 110 kW and 135 kW. System output is 350 kW (about 476 PS) and 847 Nm.
GWM quoted 0 to 100 km/h in five seconds and a top speed of 235 km/h. electrive later gave a length of 4.87 metres for the car now called the Wey 05.
CnEVPost added that the Coffee 01 had completed WVTA type approval, meeting the Euro 6d standard, and had earned five stars in Euro NCAP testing. All of these are figures from GWM’s launch and the trade press.
One Price, Fully Equipped
At launch in Germany, the Coffee 01 started at €55,900 for a car GWM described as fully equipped, according to GWM’s release. CnEVPost reported a Premium version at €55,900 and a Luxury version at €59,900.
Germany was to be followed by Sweden, Spain and Austria, CnEVPost added. electrive reported that order books would open in November, with the German market launch planned for January 2023.
From Coffee 01 To Wey 05
GWM’s European plan changed within thirteen months. In November 2023 electrive reported that the Wey and Ora brands would become product lines under a single GWM brand in Europe. The Wey Coffee 01 would become the GWM Wey 05.
Orders for it, electrive added, had been open in Germany since November 2022. The smaller Coffee 02 from the same stand was reported in February 2024 as the Wey 03, from €47,900.
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We filmed it at Paris Motor Show 2022.
Our Take
On paper the Coffee 01’s argument was a big battery and a long electric range at a single, fully equipped price. The order timetable held, with German orders open from November 2022 according to electrive.
The name did not. Early buyers ordered a WEY Coffee 01, and within thirteen months GWM had folded Wey into a single GWM brand in Europe and renamed the car the Wey 05. Anyone shopping for one used should search under both names.
Specs
| Battery | 41.8 kWh |
| Power | 350 kW (about 476 PS) and 847 Nm system output |
| Range | up to 146 km electric (WLTP); more than 800 km combined, according to GWM |
| Price | €55,900 (Premium) to €59,900 (Luxury) in Germany at launch (CnEVPost, 18 Oct 2022; electrive, 24 Oct 2022) |
| Length | 4.87 m (electrive, 29 Feb 2024, for the Wey 05) Drive: four-wheel drive |
| Engine | 2.0-litre turbo petrol, 150 kW, plus two electric motors (110 kW and 135 kW) Market launch: orders from November 2022; German market launch planned for January 2023 (electrive) |
Source: GWM release of 17 Oct 2022 (Automotive World); CnEVPost, 18 Oct 2022; electrive, 24 Oct 2022 and 23 Nov 2023.
Independent editorial. No brand or organiser paid for or reviewed this article.
