New EV car brand, Aion, a company founded by China-based GAC in 2017, is set to launch in the UK at the end of May with its Aion V all electric family SUV.
A Jameel Motors flagship Aion retail showroom in Slough (southern England, just outside London) will open at the end of May followed shortly by the first wave of retail sites making up a nationwide franchised retail network. Pre-orders for the Aion V start on 23 April.
The Aion V comes with one single trim level priced from GBP36,450 OTR (on-the-road), acting as a new competitor among the growing number of Chinese OEMs present in the UK car market.
The model boasts an impressive charge time of 30-80% charge in 13 minutes. The vehicle also comes with its ‘Aion Great 8’ promise; eight years warranty, eight years servicing, eight years of roadside assistance and eight years of MOT all as standard.
During a UK launch event, Frankie Youd spoke with John Wakefield, managing director, AION to learn more about the brand’s entry to the UK market, and what sets it apart from other Chinese OEMs.
John Wakefield
Just Auto (JA): How is Aion approaching the UK market?
John Wakefield (JW): Aion is a brand of the GAC group, who are one of China’s largest and most established automotive manufacturers. They have really engaged in a number of joint venture operations – most predominantly Toyota and Honda.
The work between GAC and Toyota and Honda particular, is really relevant, because that means that the industrial system at GAC group is quite well developed. We’re not a start-up. This is a company that has got a real track record of building great cars with solid reputation delivered in feedback from consumers in China.
We’re not going to be a one-car act. We’ve got other car lines coming; it’ll be a reasonably quick succession [of models] over the next two or three years.
We have the UT, which is a slightly smaller hatchback, then a larger SUV, which at the moment is called the ‘S7’ but it won’t be called that in the UK. That model also comes as a hybrid. We start with a solid execution in the BEV segment, but we then move next year into the hybrid powertrain segment.
When GAC thought about how they would come to market in the UK, they approached another well-established organisation, Jameel Motors, who has also been in existence for a long time, retailing and distributing automotive products since the mid-40s. We then asked that we set up a joint venture. We work for a UK company with two shareholders, and I think what that means is that we’ve got a real opportunity to influence the way that the brands are launching the products and the future of GAC from a very local perspective.
How is the distribution network development going?
We aim to make a sustainable market volume in three years. We want to grow with partners. My ideal outcome is that in three years’ time we will have 20 partners, but with 60 to 70 showrooms and aftersales. We are identifying partners, mostly regional or privately-owned regional businesses, and saying: ‘If that’s your natural territory, and you know the markets and you’re a respected employer, we’d like to work with you over that area. But if you’ve got five big towns in that area, let’s start in town A, then as we grow, and you grow, we will grow exclusively with you in that area.’
We’re giving a commitment subject to both the parties. If we grow well in that time, the partner can have that whole area. For the retailer, that’s quite appealing and it’s a more sustainable business for us. We’ve got a local expert, and we’ve got a small number of partners that we can have very meaningful discussions with.
Most importantly, what that means for the consumer is you’ve got a really confident, established partner retailer in your local area, and probably someone that you’re quite familiar with.
How do you plan on getting the Aion name out there?
We open the doors at end-May. We’ll have roughly 15 showrooms spread around those larger areas, so we’ll focus a lot of our effort into working with that local retail partner to make sure that we do a national launch, local launch, and with the way the media works now, it’s quite easy to do.
Media feedback is important for us to spread the word, and we will run a press fleet so media can continue to be involved.
What are the main attributes of the brand that makes it stand out in the UK amongst other Chinese models?
I would say one is ease of use and trust; they go quite hand-in-hand. Sitting behind that is the fact that from a product perspective, this is the first car that we will launch; the Aion V does many great things.
It has a strong charge time. It’s got great fit and finish. It’s got great rear space, it’s very good for that offering. It’s that point about building trust, having all the infrastructure that we need set behind the brand, such as the partnership with the AA [a UK nationwide breakdown services provider].
We will have some flexible and very good finance packages, but our eight years warranty offer, eight years MOT, makes it really stand out. All of that gives us an opportunity to build a reputation as being a trusted car brand.
How important is the UK market for European strategy?
I think the first thing to say, in terms of importance, is UK publications spreading the word. The other markets that are coming upstream will work closely with us, and we’ll pretty much set the pace for the European market. I mean, there’ll be slightly different variations for each launch – for example, you don’t need winter tyres in Spain!
I’d like to have consumers and retailers that really recognise us as being a great partner, because I do see those two as being vitally important.
“GAC’s Aion introduces the Aion V to the UK market” was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.
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