In July GAC managed to sell 3.406 units of the impressive electric car Aion S. The GAC Aion S is one of the few electric cars already with NCM 811 battery cells from CATL, the other is the – not less impressive – NIO ES6, which only had 673 units delivered in July.

The sales of the GAC Aion S have been rising since its debut.

May: 668

June: 2.016

July: 3.406

In China the GAC Aion S is sold in three battery configurations:

Charm Evo 530: 49,4 kWh for a NEDC range of 410 km (255 miles)

Charm Max 530: 48,4 kWh for a NEDC range of 410 km (255 miles)

Charm Evo/Max 630: 58,8 kWh for a NEDC range of 510 km (317 miles)

Now that Europe replaced the “fairy tale” test cycle NEDC with the WLTP, China should do the same. Nonetheless, it’s evident that the GAC Aion S with its drag coefficient of 0,245 is a very efficient electric car. Let’s see…

NIO ES6 is the other electric car with a NCM 811 battery from CATL and also achieves a NEDC range of 510 km (317 miles). However, since it’s less efficient it requires a 84 kWh battery in order to do so.

Other highlights of the GAC Aion S:

135 kW motor with peak torque of 300 Nm

6,6 kW on-board charger

100 kW fast charging

OTA (Over-the-Air) software updates

Optional sunroof with 60 W in solar cells

Level 2 autonomous driving assistance

ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control)

Length: 4.768 mm

Width: 1.880 mm

Height: 1.530 mm

Weight: 1.610 kg (Charm Evo 530), 1.575 kg (Charm Max 530) and 1.625 kg (Charm Evo/Max 630)

In addition to the Charm variants, there are the entry-level Hyun variants. After subsidies the Hyun 530 has a starting price of 139.800 yuans (17.779 euros) and the Hyun 630 has a starting price of 153.800 yuans (19.560 euros).

GAC designed the Aion S to be an alternative to the more expensive Tesla Model 3. This is a Chinese electric car that would definitely be very welcomed outside its domestic market, unfortunately for us the Chinese car market is huge and it’ll keep GAC busy for a while.

More info:

https://www.gac.com.cn/gw/xwzx/qydt/20190809/detail-17548.shtml

http://www.gacne.com.cn/vehicles/aion_s

http://carsalesbase.com/china-car-sales-data/gac/gac-aion-s/