Today, a GAC Aion official indicated that the company’s factory in Thailand will be ready by mid-July and that the second-generation Aion V will be launched globally at the same time. It is currently unclear whether there is a connection between these messages.
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Previous reports indicated that the Aion Y Plus would be the first model to be produced at the Thai factory, located in Rayong province in the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). GAC announced plans for the factory in November last year and broke ground on January 26 this year. The first of two phases of the plant should be completed later this month. The total investment in the factory is 2.3 billion Thai Baht (64.8 million USD), with a production of 50,000 cars. It will be GAC’s first factory outside China and will produce right-hand drive models. Judging from the investments and the appearance of the site, it is unlikely that the factory will do much more than assemble CKDs.
The new factory is part of Aion’s plans, which call for both production and sales of 1 million cars by 2025. At the 40th Thailand International Motor Expo last November, Aion presented five vehicle models and EV technologies. The brand has also reportedly signed distribution agreements with a number of Thai dealer groups and identified 34 potential sales centers. The Aion brand has been busy entering several Southeast Asian markets and is also building a factory in Indonesia.
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The second-generation Aion V is set to hit the market on July 23, and is the first GAC Aion to be designed specifically as a global model. That means it won’t be the launch model for the Thai and Indonesian factories, but it will likely be produced at those factories later.
Chinese prices reportedly start around 149,800 yuan (20,600 USD) and are 4605, 1854 and 1660 mm (l/b/h), with a wheelbase of 2775 mm. Buyers can choose from a 150 or 165 kW electric motor. Although there is no news about the battery capacity, it is known that the range is up to 750 km. The platform is 400V, but silicon carbide is used for the first time. Using a lithium iron phosphate battery, it has 3C fast charging. Thanks to the new technology, it has reduced charging times by 60%, meaning it can cover a range of 230 miles in 15 minutes. The Aion V runs on AEP’s new, self-developed, purely electric digital platform.
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External power discharge is up to 7 kW. The center console storage compartment has a capacity of 6.6 liters and offers heating, cooling and freezing modes with temperatures ranging from -15°C for freezing to 50°C for heating. GAC claims that the energy consumption for this is 0.5 kWh per day. The seats fold down into a bed and there is a panoramic sliding roof of 2.14 m².
High-spec versions come with a high level of driver assistance via an Nvidia Orin X chip that understands input from a high-thread Lidar unit, 5-millimeter wavelength radars and 11 cameras. It offers driver assistance (NDA) in urban areas and on highways without the need for high-precision maps.
Sources: Autohome, Autohome