Aion wants to return to the peak

Author | Wang Xiaojun

Editor | Zhou Zhiyu

As a once-leading new force in sales, with a monthly sales of 50,000 vehicles, Aion has faced some setbacks in 2024. However, starting from the second half of the year, it has begun to ramp up efforts, continuously launching new vehicles.

Recently, Aion, a new energy brand under GAC, has opened pre-sales for its first car in 2025, the Aion UT Parrot Dragon, which is also the first vehicle after GAC Group's "Panyu Action."

This car is positioned as an A0-class small vehicle, with a pre-sale price ranging from 89,800 yuan to 109,800 yuan. It is equipped with features such as heat pump air conditioning, a large model AI voice assistant, V-shaped side airbags, and L2 autonomous driving, which are significantly superior to other models in the same class. Coupled with pre-sale benefits, the actual release price of this car is quite competitive in the market.

To boost sales, Aion has invested heavily.

For this vehicle, Aion's Deputy General Manager Xiao Yong aims to rank among the top three in this segment. It is worth mentioning that, based on the sales data from December 2024, the current top three in the A0-class market are BYD Seagull, Wuling Bingo, and Geely Xingyuan. To become one of the top three, monthly sales must reach at least 15,000 units.

In fact, Aion urgently needs a new blockbuster model to bring sales back to peak levels.

In 2022, Aion was once estimated to be worth hundreds of billions, becoming the fastest-growing unicorn of the year. In 2023, Aion quickly became the third in new energy vehicle sales, closely following BYD and Tesla, and even surpassed Tesla in some months.

However, after exceeding 50,000 units in sales in August 2023, it did not continue to rise. In 2024, although Aion's monthly sales are not low, they have dropped significantly compared to the previous year.

For a long time, the sales contributions to Aion have come from its two early blockbuster models, AION Y and AION S. This also means that Aion urgently needs new blockbuster models to continue boosting sales.

Last year, Aion successively launched the second-generation AION V Tyrannosaurus, AION RT Velociraptor, and the recently pre-sold Aion UT Parrot Dragon. In Xiao Yong's view, these three vehicles are competitive in the price ranges of 120,000-180,000 yuan, 110,000-160,000 yuan, and 80,000-110,000 yuan, respectively.

Currently, AION RT has monthly sales of around 7,000 units, and AION V has monthly sales of around 5,000 units. If the newly pre-sold Aion UT can achieve Xiao Yong's ambitions, then Aion may hope to reach 50,000 units per month again.

As a once-celebrated new force, Aion has even more ambitions. For instance, since last year, Aion has accelerated its overseas expansion, not only launching new vehicles abroad but also building factories overseas for production. Moreover, Guo Qilin, who recently appeared at the Aion UT launch event, is also Aion's global ambassador. In all aspects, Aion hopes to establish itself as a global automotive brand Competition is always fierce, and Aito has already launched its charge for 2025.

Below is a conversation with Xiao Yong, Deputy General Manager of GAC Aito, and Tu Xucong, General Manager of Aito UT products:

Q: In the face of such a competitive market in 2025, what are Aito's secrets and confidence in continuing to innovate, move upward, and create blockbuster products?

Xiao Yong: Aito's focus in 2025 is on three aspects: product, price, and service. In 2024, when everyone is competing, what we see is price competition, with industry giants taking the lead in price wars. I believe that in 2025, simply competing on price may not be enough; we need to emphasize product first, then price, and finally service, integrating all three. We need to have good products, competitive prices, and high-quality service. In 2025, it may be a competition of comprehensive competitiveness.

Everyone knows that the A-class car market has always been the most competitive, with a large sales volume in the 80,000-100,000 yuan market, but the competition is also very intense. In the past, in the market below 100,000 yuan, especially in the 80,000-90,000 yuan segment, the customer experience for pure electric vehicles was basically just acceptable, as price limited choices. The aesthetics and driving experience of these cars might be passable, fast charging was not expected, and there were no expectations for intelligent cockpits.

But are these customers really willing to settle? They certainly still desire a car that can break the market pattern of the 100,000 yuan segment. Aito UT aims to change this situation, meeting these customers' potential needs or fulfilling their previously unexpressed desires.

Aito UT is the first model in this price range to introduce an intelligent cockpit. Just like why the Tyrannosaurus and Aito RT were popular before, aside from being visually appealing, they indeed led the way by bringing high-level intelligent driving with lidar into the market below 200,000 yuan. With Aito RT, you can have high-level intelligent driving with lidar for just over 150,000 yuan, and with Tyrannosaurus, it's just over 160,000 yuan.

I believe the next step is to bring different and groundbreaking products that meet customers' higher values and needs at this level. This is Aito's original intention and what we will continue to pursue.

Q: What are the sales expectations for Aito UT?

Xiao Yong: The competition in this segment is the fiercest, but the market is also very large and broad. If Aito UT cannot achieve monthly sales of over 10,000 units, or even over 15,000 units, I wouldn't dare to call it a blockbuster. My ambition is to at least be among the top three in this segment; you can check the sales data. Of course, there is a process of climbing.

Q: Who are the main target user groups for Aito UT now?

Tu Xucong: When Aito UT was initially positioned, the entire model targeted three types of users. The first group is young people, who have just graduated not long ago. They may choose a new small model, have a limited budget, and do not want to settle. As we mentioned, Aito UT's design is not about settling; it emphasizes style, making it a more stylish choice. Aito UT is such a car, designed as the first car for young people; The second category is the group of mothers. The Aion UT has a rear baby observation mirror and the largest side airbags in its class to protect rear-seat children. The third category is young families who have just gotten married and have a limited budget, and are looking for a car for the whole family to commute. The Aion UT is also prepared for this. Safer, more comfortable, easier to drive, and smarter, all developed around these three groups of people.

Q4: Why did we invite Guo Qilin as a spokesperson, and what considerations were behind this? Secondly, we also noticed that in addition to many automotive media at the launch event, several hundred influencers were also invited. Does this mean that GAC Aion is making new changes in marketing innovation?

Xiao Yong: Inviting Guo Qilin as a spokesperson is not just for the Aion UT. I want to clarify that Guo Qilin is the global spokesperson for the GAC Aion brand. It just so happens that the Aion UT was launched today, and this might be his first car appearance. For us, it is the first car of the "Panyu Action," and for Guo Qilin, it is also his first car as a spokesperson.

Additionally, I would like to take this opportunity to briefly introduce that Aion is not only selling in the Chinese market; we have already begun to expand into Southeast Asia, South America, and even the Middle East and Europe. We are definitely heading towards global markets. The past two years have been a good opportunity for new energy vehicles to go overseas, and we will work with Daling to penetrate overseas markets. Since he is the global spokesperson, he will also help us with promotion and marketing abroad.

Question: The launch event mentioned this car priced under 100,000 yuan, which has many features and configurations typically found in cars priced above 150,000 yuan. Everyone knows that the cost of pure electric vehicles is relatively fixed. How is it possible to produce such a car at this price point in terms of cost control?

Tu Xuceng: The two key points for controlling costs in the Aion UT are integrated innovative design and systematic innovative design. This term might sound vague, so let me give two examples:

First is integrated innovative design. This car comes standard with a heat pump and dual-layer flow, which used to be available only in models priced at 150,000 yuan and above. For our car, we have integrated the entire thermal management system into a single design. Based on this integrated design, we also combined the thermal management controller with the vehicle controller. The benefit is that shared housings and circuit boards can all be used together, allowing one controller to manage all circuits, significantly reducing costs.

Second is systematic innovative design. This car needs to be safe and spacious, and we need to manage the overall energy while ensuring long range, which can only be solved systematically.

A key point in the design of this car is that, in addition to wide tires, the overall rolling resistance coefficient is the lowest among all mass-produced models, achieving 0.0052. This technology has already been implemented in the Aion UT. Innovations in rolling resistance, aerodynamic drag, and electric drive efficiency have all contributed to reducing our energy consumption. Even though the Aion UT weighs 1.5 tons and is large in size, the overall energy consumption is still controlled at a level comparable to that of competing models in the same class This is our main secret to reducing costs. Since we want to use quality materials while keeping prices low, we can only innovate and solve these problems through technology.

Q: Aito has always said that the DNA of the Aito brand is advanced, trendy, and high-quality. How will you focus on building the brand's three DNA in marketing in the future?

Xiao Yong: In fact, a brand is a mark that is formed gradually. The reason we are signing a brand ambassador at this time is to reflect this brand mark in the future. Many times, customers may not have a clear perception or a deep impression, so we find a representative brand ambassador who can better convey the brand's tone or mark to consumers and customer groups.

Q: We see that Aito is "three dragons rising together," basically competing in the most intense C-end market segment of 100,000 to 150,000 yuan, and has already dipped into the 80,000 to 150,000 yuan segment. Many institutions predict that the competition in the 80,000 to 150,000 yuan segment this year may be exceptionally fierce. What is your judgment and expectation for this segment?

Xiao Yong: Indeed, the competition in this market is very intense, but as the saying goes, the bigger the waves, the more valuable the fish. We often say that the more intense the competition, the easier it is to create a blockbuster. If no one is doing anything in this market and there are no customer groups concerned, how can there be competition?

Since we don't have the fate to find a so-called blue ocean without competition, we must carve out a bloody path in the red ocean. I still say that we compete on products, prices, and services; it is truly a comprehensive competition.

Our "three dragons" are the Tyrannosaurus Rex, which addresses competitiveness in the price range of 120,000 to 180,000 yuan; the Aito RT, which addresses competitiveness in the price range of 110,000 to 160,000 yuan; and the Aito UT, which addresses competitiveness in the market of 80,000 to 110,000 yuan. This means that we have our flagship products in different price segments, and we aim to capture the market with high-quality products, competitive prices, and innovative services to meet customer needs.

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