Author: Erchai

Three years ago, watching a group of new forces in the car industry rapidly entering the electric vehicle market, many traditional car companies also established electric sub-brands to seize the market. Brands or branches such as Geely Geometry, Changan New Energy, and GAC Aion were born at that time. After three years of competition, if we evaluate these brands from the perspective of sales volume and market share, GAC Aion is one of the few brands that has made achievements both in vehicle layout and sales volume.

The best-selling model of the Aion brand is the AION S, a compact pure electric vehicle. The sales of this car have always been good and stable, staying at around 5,000 units per month, with a total sales volume of over 100,000 units. It is the only electric vehicle in the top 10 sales of independent brands last year. In the compact pure electric vehicle segment with a price range of 100,000 to 150,000 yuan, it is indeed one of the best products.

As the acceptance of electric vehicles in the personal consumption market gradually increases, more and more people have begun to accept that the second car in their home can be an electric vehicle. GAC Aion also timely launched a new upgraded model based on the original accumulation of AION S, which is the AION S Plus we are talking about today.

As an upgraded model, there are quite a few changes in AION S Plus compared to the current model. The exterior design has changed, and the interior design has many upgrades. The battery has been changed to a safer magazine battery, and the motor power has also been improved. These changes are mainly aimed at the personal consumption market. How effective will they be?

As GAC Aion’s first model (excluding the GE3) at that time, the exterior design of the current model AION S was highly praised. Because three or four years ago, people’s acceptance of the exaggerated exterior design of electric vehicles was still limited. The style of AION S retained some design features of traditional fuel vehicles, and did not take too big a step, which was more acceptable to consumers. Now that the public’s acceptance of electric vehicle design is more tolerant, the design of AION S Plus has also undergone significant changes compared to the current model, being more aggressive and more high-tech.

The front face of the car adopts a closed design, divided into upper and lower layers. The position of the original emblem has been moved up, and the lines have become sharper from the original rounded shape. The overall shape of the headlights has not changed much, but the lamp group is longer. The active air intake grille below has a larger area and an spindle-shaped internal shape. The outer edge of the bottom protrudes. This grille is a closable grille. For example, during high-speed driving, it can be closed to reduce wind resistance and improve endurance, which is a small highlight of the new car.

The entire front face looks sharper and more identifiable, highlighting the electric car’s attributes. This change meets the ideal effect that the car wants to achieve. For individual consumers, it must be distinguished from the original AION S in order to achieve the mission of this car.

The wheelbase of the AION S Plus is consistent with the current model, still 2750mm. The length of the car has increased slightly to 4810mm, while the height of the car body has decreased to 1515mm. From the side, it looks more like a plunging posture of low front and high rear, and the biggest change should be the use of the currently popular hidden door handle.

The changes in the appearance of the rear of the car are also very obvious, with slender penetrating taillights that are more identifiable than the “flame-style” taillights of the current model. AION S Plus has added two exterior colors, one is holographic silver, which will have a color-changing effect like a film, and the other is ice pink specially designed for female users. (Like ORA, AION S Plus also attaches great importance to the female market)

There are many changes and upgrades to the appearance of the individual user. The interior of AION S Plus has also undergone some changes. The most obvious change is the cancellation of the double screens, which are replaced by the same 14.6-inch screen as AION Y, and the physical buttons at the bottom are cancelled. The adjustment functions of the air conditioning and seats can be placed at the bottom of the big screen. The car system also adopts a brand-new UI design. According to the experience of AION Y, this car machine is quite easy to use.

In addition to these, the steering wheel of the new car has also adopted a completely new style, and the shift lever has also changed to the shift knob used in other models of Aiways family. The overall style of the interior has become more technological and exquisite, which caters to the preferences of individual consumer groups.

In addition, a major upgrade in the interior is the installation of a panoramic sunroof measuring 1.9 square meters, which significantly enhances the open and transparent feeling inside the car. This sunroof is equipped with a flexible electrochromic technology, similar to the ones used on the 787 airplanes, which can change colors and block ultraviolet light through voice control. Whether it has good heat insulation performance in summer remains unknown.

In terms of configuration, according to some information currently released by the manufacturer, the new car will be equipped with a fully-perceptive interaction system (which enables functions such as automatic unlocking, locking, and driving upon getting on the car), remote parking, ADIGO 2.5 automatic driving system, etc. Basically, all the trendy and interesting features that GAC Aion has are equipped, and comfort features such as seat heating and memory seats are not neglected either.

In terms of range and powertrain configuration, AION S Plus will provide multiple range versions, namely 410 km, 510 km, and 602 km, with the basic model equipped with lithium iron phosphate battery and the high-end model equipped with a ternary lithium battery. The availability of multiple range versions has always been an advantage of AION S, and it is also well-continued on AION S Plus. Personal consumers can choose the appropriate version based on their budget.

In terms of performance, AION S Plus has also undergone significant upgrades compared to the current model, with a maximum power of 225 Ps and a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 6.8 seconds. It is believed that driving this car will be quite different from the current model, and it is an upgrade that targets personal consumers.

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Overall, as a mid-life facelift model, the changes of AION S Plus are significant. The design has become more technologically trendy from being plain and steady, the interior has become more refined and technological, and the configuration, whether it is mix-and-match colors or comfort-based configuration, is all tailor-made for personal consumers. From this car, we can see GAC Aion’s attention to the personal consumer market. So, going back to our initial question, will personal consumers pay for it?

On the product side, AION S Plus is more excellent than the current version. It not only inherits many advantages of the current version such as endurance, workmanship, configuration, and multiple versions to choose from, but also caters to individual consumers’ preferences by improving the design, battery safety, performance, sophistication, and fun configurations. As long as there is a reasonable pricing, AION S Plus is bound to perform well.

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.