GAC, one of China’s biggest car makers, will launch in the UK early next year with an electric hatchback and an SUV aimed squarely at Volkswagen's ID 3 and ID 4.
The firm's announcement confirms Autocar's exclusive report that it was planning an imminent launch here, with the firm viewing the UK as an especially bountiful growth market for EVs.
As previously reported, the joint-venture partner of Honda and Toyota – which sold just over two million cars last year – plans to undercut established brands on price to attract buyers.
The smaller of its first two models is the Aion UT hatchback, which is billed as “China’s version of the Mini”.
Designed to suit city commuters, it's slightly longer and wider than the ID 3 – a decision informed by Chinese buyers’ expectations of interior space.
It is priced from the equivalent of just £7500 in its homeland but is expected to cost significantly more in the UK, due to the cost of shipping the car across the globe, plus taxes.
But, according to GAC COO Thomas Schemera – previously a leading figure at Hyundai’s N performance division and at BMW before that – the Aion UT must come in at a competitive price to generate any traction in a difficult market.
“From a price positioning point of view, to be higher than other competitors which have a well-established brand, that would be very challenging,” he said.
“Let me put it this way: we have to be smart and clever here to put our morals on the streets and also to simultaneously build the brand, not just with the product presence but supported by campaigns.
"As long as our brand value is on such a low level, we have to do everything to increase it.
“With this mechanism, you can also increase the price step by step for your products. But first of all, you have to build confidence.”
To that end, the Aion UT is expected to land in the UK in the mid to high £20,000s. This would significantly undercut the ID 3 (£30,795), aligning it more closely with the MG 4 EV and upper-spec versions of the Renault 5.
UK specifications have yet to be confirmed, but in China, it employs a front-mounted 134bhp electric motor and a 60kWh lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery, yielding a range of 267 miles.
