Aion, the all-electric marque of China’s Guangzhou Automobile Corporation (GAC), is gearing up to bring its Hyper GT to Australia as a rival to the ubiquitous Tesla Model 3.
The company has told CarExpert it intends to launch locally, but not before it ships an example of the Hyper GT in time for an October 2023 showing.
Before then, it will first exhibit its Y and V SUV models, with preview examples set to arrive locally later this month.
Aion has also released more specifications and interior images of the recently revealed Hyper GT, a four-door electric sedan.
The sleek four-door sedan (with electric scissor doors up front for the higher-specced version and normal doors for the entry-level), is mooted to use a 900V electrical architecture making it capable of using a A480 charger with 480kW charging speeds.
Range is said to be between 500km and 600km. Aion has already unveiled its next-generation ‘super-energy’ lithium-ion battery based on microcrystalline technology, which can reach more than 2C for ultra-rapid charging and offer a battery life that can exceed 1.5 million kilometres.
Aion is expected to launch its Hyper GT initially with its single-motor rear-wheel drive version making 250kW of power and 430Nm of torque – good enough for a 0-100 sprint in sub-five seconds. A quicker, more powerful dual-motor version will come in the following year.
The brand says it’s been benchmarking the Tesla Model 3 and will use a combination of HD cameras, LiDAR, radar and infrared technology to further improve the accuracy of the car’s Autonomous ADIGO Pilot technology.
It also has a claimed 0.19 drag coefficient, lower than that of the Mercedes-Benz EQS (0.20) making it one of world’s most aerodynamic mass-produced cars.
Inside, the photographs show a clean, if not luxurious cabin with slightly more going on than the current Model 3. For starters, there’s a high-mounted digital driver’s display not unlike Peugeot’s latest fit-out, as well as a huge landscape-style, floating infotainment screen on the centre console.
The steering wheel is oval-shaped with left and right thumb rollers and dual instrument stalks.
Plenty of storage bins up front and a massive dual-lid console box, with similarly large pockets in all four doors.
The front seats are essentially one-piece buckets with plenty of support and enough adjustment to lie almost flat. The second row is more of a two-seat configuration in the rear as far as bolstering goes, however rear legroom looks to be extensive.
It also gets a 23-speaker sound system to create a true 1080-degree sound experience – we still can’t figure out what that actually means.
In China the Aion Hyper GT is priced at between 270,000 and 320,000 RMB (direct exchange is AU$58,000-68,000), slightly higher than the Tesla Model 3.
-
Aion V -
Aion Y
With other Chinese-owned brands like BYD and MG are already smashing it in here in Australia, Aion is another well-known domestic brand in China that also believes it has a worthwhile offering for Aussie buyers.
The EV-only brand was established in 2017. Parent company GAC, first founded in 1954 as a bus manufacturer, builds more than 2.3 million vehicles per annum for the domestic market alone, including vehicles for Honda and Toyota.
