The next wave of ambitious Chinese car brands will launch in Australia from 2023, joining established offerings such as MG, LDV, GWM, Haval and BYD.
We already have good benchmarks at this year’s shows from Chery, JAC Motor, and GWM’s Tank and Ora brands, but there are other OEMs with Aussie show proposals that we’re running out of time for.
The brand is Aion, part of the sprawling Guangzhou Automobile Co, shortened to GAC Group, which is headquartered in Zhujiang New Town and listed on both the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges.
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GAC Mitsubishi Airtrek EV
Like most Chinese OEMs, it focuses on joint ventures with well-known brands, in this case Japanese companies. Active JVs include GAC Toyota, GAC Honda and GAC Mitsubishi, all made under license.
But as the Chinese government increasingly shifts to domestic brands and domestic consumption, GAC has branched out – not only with its own GAC-badged range of cars developed with what it gets from its JV partners, but through other sub-brands.
This sub-brand is Aion, and this is where we get stuck.
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Aion LX Plus
GAC Aion New Energy Automobile Co Ltd was founded on 28 July 2017 with a focus on ‘new energy’ vehicles, with a more premium slant. A large amount was taken to fund R&D expenses.
The company is confident about its export plans, and like many others sees Australia as an ideal pilot market – it’s close to China in the grand scheme of things, highly competitive and fragmented, yet small enough in scale that failure isn’t a big deal. disaster
Based on our discussions with those working behind the scenes, we expect to see the first Aion products go on sale in Australia from the second half of 2024, with the brand going live in earnest from 2025.
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Aion Y Plus
Like Tesla and Polestar, it is expected to use a direct-to-consumer sales model rather than engaging with franchise dealer partners. This is an increasingly common approach from clean EV brands.
At the time of writing GAC Aion advertises eight models at home in China, only some of which will be the start for Australia, in factory right-hand drive (something GAC Aion is still scaling).
Expected to be the first is the youth-focused Aion Y Plus, a 4.5-metre high-riding MPV that hits China in September 2022. The EV offers a claimed range (on mild Chinese testing) of between 430km and 610km depending on battery choice, with output motor 150kW and 225Nm.
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Aion V Plus
Another vehicle that Aion is expected to offer at or near launch is a new generation SUV that will be slightly larger than the Y Plus. Aion currently sells the LX Plus and V Plus in China, and we understand the Australian model will be the next-generation successor to both.
Headlining acts from a branding perspective are the GAC Aion Hyper GT and Hyper SSR.
The Hyper GT is a wild-looking fastback that rivals the Tesla Model 3, offering a very smooth 0.19Cd aerodynamic rating, a 250kW power rating, a claimed 0-100km/h time of 4 seconds, butterfly doors and 900V architecture. It also has LiDAR.
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Aion Hyper GT
The company hopes that the latest version of the car, potentially including a dual-motor performance model, will arrive in RHD around 2025.
Finally, every brand needs a halo product – not one designed to sell in large numbers but to serve as a marketing great. For the GAC Aion, this is a Hyper SSR LHD supercar only.
The Aion Hyper SSR, dubbed by GAC as “China’s first supercar”, has been designed to set “a new benchmark for the Chinese auto industry” in terms of performance and manufacturing.
The company reckons the EV hi-po sprints from 0-100km/h in an insane 1.9s in top-spec guise, or 2.3s in entry-level form.
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Aion Hyper SSR
The e-motor with a Porsche-style two-speed transmission puts out a claimed 900kW (1225hp), which under full throttle “delivers a strong rear thrust comparable to a rocket launch at 1.7G”.
The company also mentions the use of aviation tire technology with low heat retention, and a 900V silicon carbide chip that works 2.5 times faster while reducing power.
GAC Aion also produces a sleek Camry-sized S Plus sedan, but given local tastes this seems unlikely to us.
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