GAC Aion: Breaking away from ride-hailing services, starting from a lower price than BYD | Focus Analysis

"Aion UT is going to intensify the competition for its rivals," said Xiao Yong, the deputy general manager of GAC Aion, with great confidence at the press conference.

This is directly related to the pricing. The pre-sale price of UT is 89,800 - 109,800 yuan, 10,000 yuan cheaper than the market expectation. Even the top-of-the-line model priced at 109,800 yuan is equipped with L2-level assisted driving function. It should be noted that the starting price of the direct competitor BYD Dolphin is also 99,800 yuan.

Aion UT is not a small car, but an A-class car where three people can sit in the rear without feeling crowded. Its materials are very solid, with a vehicle weight of 1.5 tons and a roof load capacity of 8 tons.

Not only is the price lower and the design more fashionable, but the configuration of Aion UT is also more sincere. Electric tailgate, heat pump + double-flow air conditioning, which are only available in models above 150,000 yuan, can also be seen in UT.

Aion UT Price Chart

Of course, to compete with BYD Dolphin, one must have sufficient strength.

Dolphin was launched in 2021 and completed a sales volume of 500,000 units in just 26 months, with consistently excellent results. The latest data shows that the sales volume of Dolphin in December was 21,800 units, and the cumulative sales volume in 2024 was 198,300 units.

However, the design style and competitive situation in the automotive industry four years ago cannot be compared with the present. With the "latecomer advantage," it is not difficult for UT to take a share of the A-class car market.

UT is also highly expected by GAC. Feng Xingya, the general manager of the group, calls it "the first car of the Panyu Action." Xiao Yong even believes that UT can "bring 100,000-yuan new energy vehicles from the 'commuting era' to the 'boutique era'."

「 89,800 yuan, the new hit after RT 」

Aion UT targets young people, mothers in first- and second-tier cities, and family users in third- and fourth-tier cities. In order to win over the target population, this new car has created three strong points: external appearance, internal space, and intelligent cockpit.

First of all, in terms of appearance, the cute bird-eye headlights of Aion UT are just like the angry eyes of "Angry Birds," full of cuteness and highly recognizable. It is more beautiful and easier to be accepted than the three-eyed headlights of NIO Firefly.

The hatchback streamlined shape of the whole vehicle is a common style for many new cars in the past two years. Such a shape is not outstanding among this year's new cars, but for an A-class car with a pre-sale price of 89,800 yuan, then "what more could one ask for?"

Since the launch of RT, appearance has become a strong point of Aion, which is very valuable for a traditional independent brand.

Secondly, since family users are covered, internal space is inevitably one of the key points of publicity.

The wheelbase of UT is 2750mm, 50mm more than that of Dolphin. The rear lateral space is 1385mm, and the legroom reaches 905mm. To put it more straightforwardly, even if three people sit side by side in the rear, they can still not touch each other's legs and will not feel crowded.

These data are already close to the standards of B-class cars. The "cheap and spacious" design is the confidence of UT in targeting family users in third- and fourth-tier cities.

The front row space is also ingenious. The center console of UT adopts a semi-open design, which can expand the front row space for storage or can be turned into a through corridor for people to pass through. This is not common in A-class cars.

The interior design of Aion UT is very simple, but there is no sense of plastic. It does not look like a configuration that a car with a pre-sale price of 100,000 yuan can have. Coupled with the 1.8m x 1.77m large sunroof, this A-class car is indeed very attentive in configuration.

In addition to the visible appearance and space, since it targets young people, intelligence is indispensable. Xiao Yong calls UT "bringing the intelligent cockpit to the 100,000-yuan market."

UT is equipped with a 14.6-inch central control screen and an 8.8-inch instrument panel. The vehicle machine is compatible with the three major interconnection ecosystems of HiCar, CarLink, and CarPlay, and is not picky about the brand and model of the mobile phone. Applications can be seamlessly transferred to the vehicle.

New Car Interior

The voice command function that was once popular in 300,000-yuan-level models can now be seen not only in 150,000 - 200,000-yuan new cars, but also in this A-class car with a pre-sale price of 89,800 yuan.

The ADiGO 5.0 cockpit system equipped in UT is the same intelligent cockpit system as Aion RT and also the same as that of the high-end brand Hyper. Xiao Yong said at the press conference that this is the first time that the cloud large model has entered the 100,000-yuan cockpit.

The ADiGO 5.0 system can automatically search for information on the Internet, accurately recognize fuzzy instructions, and even voice-modify the destination of Gaode Navigation and voice-order videos to be played on iQIYI. Voice control can also be used for fast-forwarding and rewinding.

In terms of the power system, UT is equipped with a 100kW quark electric drive, and the maximum speed can reach 150km/h, which is faster than MONA M03.

In addition, UT, as always, is equipped with GAC's弹匣 battery 2.0 technology, which not only ensures safety, but also only takes 24 minutes to charge from 30% to 80%. This is already close to the charging efficiency of Aion RT and XPENG MONA M03.

Xiao Yong also demonstrated a battery cell safety test at the press conference. Even if the battery pack is removed, the battery cell is twisted into a pretzel shape in the torsion test, and the internal temperature of the battery cell remains at around 20 degrees. This is a safety level that Aion has not shown before.

In terms of battery life, the three versions of Aion UT are slightly different, but all have a range of 420km.

Aion UT targets Dolphin, and its competitive strategy is very simple. With a lower price, a younger product design, a larger space, and newer configurations, with the "latecomer advantage" of the new car, it can naturally seize some market share.

After the launch of the new car UT, Aion has finally fully entered a new product cycle and gradually begun to shed the "ride-hailing" label.

「 Leaving the Ride-hailing Market, Aion Squats and Jumps 」

In 2024, GAC Group sold a total of 2,003,000 vehicles, and the sales growth target for 2025 is 15%. In a competitive environment where joint venture brands are becoming increasingly weak, ensuring growth obviously depends on Aion, Hyper, and Trumpchi, and Aion is undoubtedly the main force.

In the past 2022 - 2023, Aion did not launch new cars to make way for Hyper, and its sales growth stagnated.

Starting from the second half of 2024, Aion has successively launched three global strategic models with letter logos, AION V T-Rex, AION RT Velociraptor, and AION UT Parrot Dragon, within just 5 months, creating a new buzz in the market.

The monthly sales volume of AION V T-Rex exceeded 9,000 units in the first month of its launch, and AION RT Velociraptor even had monthly sales of over 10,000 units for two consecutive months. The latest monthly sales volume in December exceeded 16,000 units, becoming Aion's new hit model.

Now, the launch of UT Parrot Dragon, with a larger space, newer configurations, and a starting price of 89,800 yuan, is likely to become a new sales growth point for Aion.

Of course, Aion's efforts have just begun. Starting from 2025, Aion, and even the entire GAC Group, will enter a product-rich year.

At the 2024 Guangzhou Auto Show, GAC announced the launch of the three-year "Panyu Action". In the next three years, GAC Group will invest at least 50 billion yuan in R & D and industrialization to help the independent brands launch 22 new models, including 7 to be launched in 2025, covering all mainstream new energy power forms such as pure electric, extended-range, and plug-in hybrid.

By brand, GAC Trumpchi will cooperate deeply with Huawei, and all new cars will be equipped with Huawei's high-level intelligent driving; the main models of Aion and Hyper will be fully equipped with GAC's extended-range technology.

Nowadays, the extended-range model has been verified in the market logic several times in brands such as Li Auto, Leapmotor, and AITO. The extended-range model of Aion will also become one of the highlights in the market in 2025.

Of course, the deployment of intelligent driving is also becoming a new competitive focus in the automotive industry. Driven by BYD, it has become a trend that 150,000-yuan-level models are standard with intelligent driving, and 150,000 - 200,000-yuan models are equipped with high-level intelligent driving.

Aion has taken a lead. Previously, the launch of RT brought high-level intelligent driving to the 150,000-yuan level, which is currently the lowest-priced model in the industry, competing with XPENG MONA M03 at the same price.

Aion's recent high-level intelligent driving report shows that it has attracted 120,000 people to complete the first high-level intelligent driving experience within 3 months, which is more than four times that of the past five years.

In addition to intelligent driving, the upgrade of the intelligent cockpit will also make 100,000-yuan A-class cars a new growth point in the market. The ability of continuous voice recognition, which was once only equipped in 300,000 - 400,000-yuan models, has begun to be popularized in A-class cars. The configuration upgrade of affordable models is bound to cause a new round of buying frenzy.

Extended-range models, the deployment of intelligent driving, and the popularization of intelligent cockpits have all given Aion new opportunities. Aion, which has not had a model renewal for two years, is experiencing a squat and jump, returning to the growth zone.

Aion, which once succeeded and was also trapped in the TO B market, is gradually escaping the confinement of "ride-hailing" through the successive launches of new cars and the renewal of design and positioning.

When Aion guarantees a monthly basis of 30,000 - 40,000 units in the TO B market, coupled with the increment of new cars, in 2025, Aion may return to the peak sales of 50,000 units per month in a short period of time, and even break through to a higher level.