Aion launching in Australia in 2025

Australia will get another electric vehicle brand to choose from next year when China's Aion launches locally with its Aion V small SUV.

While three Chinese EV brands are already on sale in Australia (four, counting Lotus), the arrival of Aion will mark a milestone in the market proliferation as the first state-owned marque to hit local showrooms.

While Aion will be the first family of vehicles to arrive in Australia with the might of PRC state ownership, the range of models will be imported and distributed by Australian company AGA Group, trading as Aion Australia.

Parent Guangzhou Automobile Group Motor (or GAC) has been on the cards for Australia for introduction for some time, but it’s now known that it will spearhead the brand’s arrival with its freshly revealed Aion V, and more models are expected to follow.

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And while reports over the last 12 months have speculated GAC was about to take the plunge, a company source has now told Wheels that “the time had to be right” before committing, and that time is 2025.

Exactly what the brand’s presence in Australia will look like is still being decided but the company is currently leaning toward a “hybrid agency” model which would take some of the agency process adopted by Honda and Mercedes locally for example, and package it with more traditional retail operations.

Either way, expect to see the Aion brand popping up around key capitals next year along with infrastructure including bricks, mortar and chargers.

The second-generation 2024 Aion V was revealed at Auto China 2024 in Beijing this week following the original Aion V which launched in China in 2020, and features “23 groundbreaking technologies” compared with its predecessor, says Aion.

These include range of up to 750km, claims GAC, while AI technology will feature in its cabin and operating system.

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It’s not to be confused with the Aion V Plus, which has previously been speculated to be the pioneering model for Aion in Australia.

At the recent International Global Distributor Conference, GAC Group president Feng Xingya highlighted the company’s plans to expand its international presence through more operations and collaborations around the world.

“GAC Group deeply recognises that successful internationalisation relies on localised management,” he said.

As part of the company’s strategy to become a more global player, the Aion V will be the first model to adopt a new Aion badge identity and the dropping of Chinese characters.

GAC is on a rampage to enter more global markets including recent acquisitions of the Phillipines, Kuwait and Nigeria, and has recently announced it’ll enter the Mexican market. When Aion arrives next year, Australia will take the total number of countries to 40.