Author: Zhu Yulong
GAC Aion released its pure electric supercar Hyper SSR this week, with a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of just 1.9 seconds. The standard version of this supercar has a pre-sale price of 1.286 million and the Ultimate racing version has a pre-sale price of 1.686 million. It is claimed to be the best sports car under 5 million yuan. What is the impact of this hero car on the upward development of the Aion brand?
In August 2022, the sales volume of Aion reached 27,000 units, and more than 150,000 units were sold from January to August. The main models are around the Aion Y with a price of about 150,000 yuan, which sold 68,000 units, and the Aion S with a price of about 120,000 yuan, which sold 58,000 units. On the other hand, the sales volume of the high-priced Aion V and Aion LX is relatively low.
Aion’s Situation
I believe that models over 1 million yuan can increase the brand’s value, just like NIO’s EP9. The Aion LX with a price over 280,000 yuan accounts for less than 2% of the sales volume. Models over 1 million yuan account for less than 0.2% of sales volume. The mainstream models are still the Aion Y and Aion S priced at around 150,000 yuan.
- Aion Y accounts for 44.51% from January to August.
- Aion S accounts for 38.39% from January to August.
These two models together account for 83% of the sales volume.
In fact, the increase in sales volume in 2022 is relatively large. It is really difficult to achieve an explosive growth for models priced beyond the reach of ordinary people under the background of macroeconomic fluctuations and the promotion of common prosperity.
# Aion’s Usage and Battery Strategy
In August, Aion’s usage on B2B applications was mainly about 31.74%, which included customers who used commercial insurance as well as personal vehicle owners who drove the cars for ride-hailing services. In 2022, due to the high oil price, many car owners have switched from fuel-powered cars to battery-powered cars.
Thus, Aion S is mainly focused on B2B applications, while Aion Y focuses on B2C applications, with some ambiguity in the C2C market share.
In fact, half of the Aion’s usage comes from Guangdong Province, where the subsidies for new energy vehicles are very attractive. Among the top 5 cities where Aion is mostly used are in Guangdong Province. On the other hand, the Aion penetration rate in the Yangtze River Delta region is also relatively successful.
Aion is still a regional brand and has yet to expand its influence to the national level. Similar to the early stages of promotion for electric vehicles, such as Beijing Automotive EV and Shanghai Automotive PHEV, Aion has experienced significant development from 2021 to 2022, benefiting from the high adoption rate of new energy vehicles in Guangdong Province.
Aion’s Battery Strategy
At present, Aion mainly relies on two battery suppliers – Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and China Aviation Lithium Battery Co. (CALB). CATL has basically completed the transformation to produce lithium iron phosphate batteries, while CALB currently supplies mainly lithium iron phosphate and ternary batteries. The proportion of lithium iron phosphate batteries in Aion’s vehicles is as follows:
- Aion Y has completed the replacement of 95% lithium iron phosphate batteries.
- Aion S currently has a replacement rate of 29%, which will continue to increase in the next steps.
- Aion V has a replacement rate of 33%, with half of them being lithium iron phosphate batteries from CALB.
Therefore, Aion’s development of its own lithium iron phosphate batteries is inevitable in the future. By Q4 of 2022, it is estimated that the overall proportion of lithium iron phosphate batteries will further increase to around 70-80%.
At present, the fast charging and 1000 km battery of Aiways are also a means of building a brand around a supercar. The products that truly sell are the low-cost products centered around lithium iron phosphate. They will be Aiway’s main force in the next 2-3 years.
Summary: I understand that the vehicle brands that can achieve high growth in 2022 have multiple reasons. In the process of becoming a multi-tasker, there are priorities and sequences, and each method has different effects.
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.