[Introduction to the car manufacturer] GAC AION
As an important player in China's new energy vehicle market, GAC AION's development history has witnessed the rapid rise of China's electric vehicle industry. This new energy vehicle brand originated from GAC Group, from the initial concept exploration to today's market leader, showing the innovation and breakthroughs of China's automobile industry in the process of electrification transformation.
The origin of the brand can be traced back to 2017, when GAC Group officially established a new energy vehicle branch, marking the substantive stage of GAC's strategic layout in the new energy field. In 2018, GAC New Energy's first pure electric model, GE3 530, was officially launched. This SUV built on a dedicated electric vehicle platform had a NEDC range of 410 kilometers and was quite competitive in the Chinese market at the time. In the same year, GAC New Energy's intelligent ecological factory was officially completed. This is China's first factory dedicated to the production of electric vehicles, demonstrating GAC's determination in the new energy field.
2019 was a key turning point in the development of the brand. This year, GAC New Energy launched the first model of the AION series, AION S. This pure electric sedan is built on GAC's second-generation pure electric exclusive platform GEP, using CATL's latest ternary lithium battery, and has a NEDC range of 510 kilometers. With its excellent cost-effectiveness and technological configuration, AION S quickly became a hot-selling model in China's new energy vehicle market, and was widely used in the online car-hailing market, accumulating valuable market experience and user data for the brand.
In 2020, GAC New Energy was officially renamed GAC Aion New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd., marking the beginning of the brand's independent operation. The two SUV models AION V and AION LX launched in the same year further improved the product line. Among them, AION LX, as the brand's flagship model, achieved a NEDC range of 650 kilometers for the first time, and was equipped with GAC's self-developed ADiGO intelligent driving system, demonstrating the brand's technical strength in the field of smart electric vehicles.
In 2021, GAC Aion reached an important milestone in its brand development. This year, GAC Group announced that the Aion brand would be operated independently and launched mixed-ownership reform. At the same time, the brand launched AION Y, a pure electric crossover for young consumers, which quickly became a new favorite in the market with its flexible space layout and rich intelligent configuration. In the same year, GAC Aion achieved annual sales of 120,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 119%, showing a strong market growth trend.
In 2022, GAC Aion made major breakthroughs in technological innovation. The brand released the new AEP 3.0 pure electric exclusive platform and Xingling electronic and electrical architecture, and launched super-speed battery technology and magazine battery system safety technology. These core technology breakthroughs have enabled GAC Aion to reach industry-leading levels in key indicators such as cruising range, charging speed and safety. In the same year, GAC Aion completed its A round of financing with a valuation of more than 100 billion yuan, becoming one of China's most valuable new energy vehicle brands.
In 2023, GAC Aion will launch its high-end brand Hyper and release its first model, the Hyper SSR pure electric supercar, marking the brand's entry into the high-end market. At the same time, the second phase of GAC Aion's smart ecological factory will be completed and put into production, with annual production capacity increased to 400,000 vehicles, laying a solid foundation for the brand's subsequent development.
From technological innovation to market development, GAC Aion has completed the transformation from a follower to a leader in just a few years. With the core concept of "advanced, fun, and high quality", the brand has gradually established its leading position in China's new energy vehicle market through continuous technological innovation and product upgrades. In the future, as the global electrification process accelerates, GAC Aion is actively developing overseas markets and is committed to becoming a new energy vehicle brand with international influence.
