On April 27th, GAC New Energy Aion V officially started pre-sales with prices starting from 170,000 yuan. The new car offers three different versions of its driving range as follows:
- Standard 60 version with NEDC range of 400 km
- Long range 70 version with NEDC range of 530 km
- Super long range 80 version, with NEDC range of 600 km
Judging from the parameters previously exposed, the new car is positioned lower than the Aion LX and belongs to the compact SUV model. Looking at the current compact new energy vehicle market, Aion V’s competitors include XPeng G3, WmAuto EX5, NETA U, and BYD Song Pro EV.
Three versions with a starting price of 170,000 yuan
The naming of the Aion V model is consistent with that of the Aion LX, with three models, 60, 70, and 80. The longest range version matches the previously exposed news and has a range of 600 km, and adopts an all-aluminum body design.
According to previous information from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the energy density of the Aion V battery reaches 173 Wh/kg, and the power consumption per 100 km under NEDC condition is 15.40 kWh. Excluding the electric grid loss, the battery capacity of the 80 super long range version is around 77 kWh, while the Chinese-made Model 3 long range rear-wheel drive version has a battery capacity of 78 kWh.
Looking at it this way, Aion V 80 super long range version will have a certain competitiveness if the price is suitable. Regarding the driving range, NEDC 600 km is at a medium to high level in the current market. However, in the compact SUV market, this driving range has a comparative advantage for vehicles in this category. Nevertheless, the selling price will also be a factor to consider, as talking about competition without mentioning the price is simply playing the rogue.
We can observe the situation of same-level models, including the XPeng G3 with NEDC range in two versions: 460 km/520 km; WmAuto EX5 with two versions: 400 km/520 km; NETA U with a range of 400 km/500 km; BYD Song Pro EV with a range of 405 km/502 km.Starting from the lowest range version, the starting price of Aion V 60 standard range version is 170,000 yuan. Assuming the price is 170,000 yuan, with Aion V NEDC range of 400 km, it does not have a significant advantage over its competitors, as it is not outstanding in terms of range and the price advantage is not obvious either.
Looking back, we tested the Aion S Meilin EV EVO 530, which is the mid-range model of the NEDC 410 km version.
The actual test result of this model showed that the Aion S could travel 267 km at high speed, with 379 km of displayed power loss and a power loss ratio of 1:1.423. The power consumption per 100 km was 17.1 kWh, and the actual high-speed cruising range was 288 km. The Aion S travelled 267 km in the city, with a displayed power loss of 287 km, a power loss ratio of 1:1.075, and a power consumption per 100 km of 13 kWh. The actual city cruising range was 381 km.
The conclusion drawn is that the Aion S has a solid city cruising range but a more mediocre high-speed range. Referring to the data obtained from the Aion S test, the actual cruising range of the Aion V is probably within this range, or even lower.
So, with this kind of range performance, what makes Aion V competitive in the market? I will explain this in the next section.
In terms of size, Aion V is 4586/1920/1728 mm in length, width, and height respectively, with a wheelbase of 2830 mm. Looking at the comparison chart below, Aion V’s size is slightly higher than its competitors in three aspects except for the length, which is slightly shorter than that of BYD Song Pro EV.
From the perspective of size parameters alone, Aion V has a slight advantage in space. However, the specific space performance still needs to be explained in detail after we get the actual car. You can look forward to it, and we also hope that the actual test results of Aion V will be as impressive as the PPT shown at the press conference.
Officially, there is no specific information on the power system. According to previous exposure, Aion V will be equipped with a permanent magnet synchronous motor with a maximum power of 135 kW and a maximum torque of 350 N·m. This is consistent with the mid-to-low-end models of Aion LX. Whether a higher power motor will be used in the high-end models is currently unknown, but based on the price range, the entire system should have uniform power parameters.
The 5G era for automobiles?## Aion V Competes with Rivals of the Same Level with Intelligence
Returning to the question from the previous section, why is the Aion V Low equipped able to compete with rivals of the same level? The answer is intelligence.
At the beginning of this month, GAC New Energy released the ADiGO 3.0 autonomous driving system. In the promotional poster, GAC New Energy claimed that the Aion LX achieved the world’s first mass-produced L3 autonomous driving. ADiGO 3.0 added high-precision maps, which explained that it had a positioning accuracy of 0.1 meters and could predict road conditions up to 1 km ahead.
The Aion V will also be equipped with the ADiGO 3.0 autonomous driving system. GAC New Energy claims that this is the only L3 autonomous driving system of the same level and the second global model equipped with high-precision maps for the entire route segment and full-speed L3 autonomous driving technology, after the Aion LX.
However, the definitions of L2 and L3 are still a bit vague, but we won’t dwell on them. Instead, let’s look at the function level. According to the Aion LX routine, all models of Aion LX’s support driving assistance as an optional extra, and some models do not support it.
The driving assistance has two versions. The Luxe Intelligent Driving Package, which costs 25,800 RMB, and the Flagship Intelligent Driving Package, which costs 39,800 RMB. The Luxe Intelligent Driving Package includes ICA high-speed autonomous driving assistance system, TJA congestion assistance driving system, APA automatic parking, and HWA high-speed adaptive lane change system. It is a standard L2 driving assistance and also supports automatic lane-changing with turn signal activation.
The Flagship Intelligent Driving Package is 1.4 million RMB more expensive and has added highway autonomous driving assistance. On the hardware side, the highway autonomous driving system adopts 5 77G millimeter-wave radars+cameras (Mobileye EyeQ4 chips) and a high-precision map from Baidu (centimeter-level accuracy) to achieve an experience similar to Cadillac’s Super Cruise with hands-free and foot-free driving on highways once regulations permit.
In addition, the Aion V will also support intelligent summons, one-click parking, and vehicle tracing functions. The key point is that the Aion V will be equipped with the latest generation of Huawei’s Balong 5000 5G chip.
In the official words, the use of 5G technology has three major advantages: first is high speed (transmission rate is more than 100 times that of 4G); second is low latency (one-thousandth of a second, equivalent to 1/50 of 4G); and third is wide connectivity (able to connect millions of terminals at the same time).Guangqi New Energy has also revealed in the release that they have independently developed a T-Box, which will be integrated into Aion V in the future.
If 5G technology is integrated into Aion V, leaving aside the actual experience effect, from the perspective of differentiation, there are certain advantages. But would you still consider it if it is optional? This is a question.
The Key to Sales Growth?
After reading the core information, let’s take a brief look at the appearance and interior design of Aion V. One of the important reasons why Aion S sold well before was its appearance and interior design.
On Aion V, I once again see the innovation of Guangqi New Energy’s designers. First of all, from the aspect of appearance, Aion V extends the design of “an arrow piercing through the clouds” on the front face. The official named this design as “mech-beast”. The main design style used on the headlight is a separate style. Compared with Aion S and Aion LX, Aion V’s recognition level has been further improved.
From the perspective of positioning, the improvement in recognition is also good for differentiation.
The tail lights have also changed. They are no longer the through-design on Aion LX, and the official named it “universe blade”. The special part is that the tail lights on both sides extend to the rear door handle, forming an integrated design. It looks more holistic, but I personally feel that although the design is quite innovative, there is something not quite right.
From the official pictures of the interior, it seems that there is no significant change compared to Aion LX, mainly some modifications in details.
Returning to the title of the section, will Aion V become the key to sales growth of Guangqi New Energy? I think it might be.
Why do I say so? In fact, we can take a look at the entire market. In the low-end market of new energy vehicles, the focus is mainly on cars. Looking at this price range, there are not many models on the current market, and the product power needs to be improved.
Looking at the vehicle models provided by Aion V, the best-selling model is expected to be the 70 long-range version with an NEDC range of 530 km. If the price of this model is within 200,000 yuan, I think it is competitive.One, with an NEDC driving range of 530 km, Aion V ranks in the middle and upper level among its peers. Two, the 5G + ADiGO 3.0 autonomous driving system is a unique selling point. Imagine a salesperson introducing Aion V to an ordinary consumer, highlighting the high-tech features of the car. Sometimes, consumers can be impressed by these “high-tech” features, making the car stand out.
Therefore, the arrival of Aion V provides a higher driving range and a more advanced “high-tech” marketing message in this segment.
Regarding Aion LX, in addition to the impact of the environment, its poor sales performance is also due to Guangzhou Automobile Group’s new energy brand power being unable to keep up with the Aion LX price.
However, Aion V, as a compact SUV, is different. If its price is as I said, I believe Guangzhou Automobile Group’s new energy brand power is more than enough, and it has a high price-performance ratio.
In simpler terms, Aion V “shrinks” and attacks in a different dimension. As we mentioned earlier, Aion V has competitive advantages.
Therefore, I believe Aion V may bring considerable sales when Guangzhou Automobile Group new energy fills the gap in the compact SUV field.
As a result, Aion V may become the new sales growth key point for Guangzhou Automobile Group’s new energy after the epidemic.
Final Thoughts
This press conference did not release much more information, but the brief conference revealed Guangzhou Automobile Group’s new energy roadmap, with intelligentization being one of the most important differentiation factors.
We can also see that in this age of rapid internet growth, 5G technology will further enhance the evolution of intelligent cars.
The key is, whoever seizes the new opportunities may build their own car empire in the future. Because solving the longer driving range is only a short-term advantage, and in the long run, intelligentization is the fundamental factor that will transform the automobile industry.
So, is Guangzhou Automobile Group’s new energy ready?
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.