GAC Aion adds the UT to the UK market
Aion, a subsidiary of China’s Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC Group), has recently launched its second vehicle offering to the UK market, the Aion UT. Established in 2017, Aion sold more than 300,000 vehicles in China in 2025 and is now expanding into international markets, including the UK.
Aion officially launched in the UK in 2026 through Aion Auto UK, a joint venture between GAC Group and Jameel Motors.
The Aion UT is a B segment electric hatchback that has been designed at GAC’s Milan design centre and is manufactured by Magna in Austria. It offers up to a claimed 268 miles of WLTP range, a 440-litre boot and a 2,750mm wheelbase.
Like the Aion V, the Aion UT is covered by Aion’s eight-year warranty, servicing and roadside assistance package, along with eight years of MOTs (the UK’s annual mandatory roadworthy test for all vehicles over three years old).
During a launch event, Frankie Youd spoke to Owen Lloyd, product director, Aion, to learn more about the European design themes behind the Aion UT, and how it aims to stand out in a highly competitive UK car market.
Just Auto (JA): How important is the European design input in developing the Aion UT?
Owen Lloyd (OL): The Aion UT is the second global car that GAC have created as part of the internationalisation strategy. So, it needed to appeal to lots of different markets. Making a true global car is quite difficult to do.
We have actually established the design house in Milan because it’s not just automotive design to be found in Milan; it’s every kind of design, and you can really see that in the vibrant design culture there.
Working within parameters of the platform, because the Aion UT is on the same platform as the Aion V, it’s got a very long wheelbase. So, to make the car still look segment relevant, with those dimensions involved, is actually quite a big feat.
We wanted the cars to look distinct because we didn’t want to be to be mistaken with anything else. So, if you look at the Aion V as well, it looks pretty unique. You can’t really mistake it for anything else. We wanted to try and achieve the same thing for Aion UT.
We wanted the cars to look distinct because we didn’t want to be to be mistaken with anything else.
Design highlights for me are the headlights, and the four-block design as well, which carries through from the front indicators and daytime running lights, around the back to the brake lights.
When we launch the Aion and GAC brands in Europe, we want to launch very much with our best foot forward, not go into market, rush it, and then have to change things later and continually tweak. We’re obviously open for doing that, but we didn’t want to work on it straight after launch. We wanted to make sure that it was spot-on when we launched.
What are the main attributes of the Aion brand?
GAC have actually been in the UK for many years. The first-generation Honda Jazz, the facelift version, was built by GAC for the UK market.
The durability of the conmpany for me was very attractive; we wanted to make it one of our key cornerstones. That also gave us the confidence as a joint venture to define the Aion Great 8 proposition, to provide the longest warranty, customer support and service package in the class.
We do offer quite a lot of space on the inside, so interior dimensions and flexibility are really quite a key part of the brand offering. The quality and execution, the materials – they are really key to the brand, too.
Also, the driving attributes matter. We have made the car quite European-centric in terms of drivability, and the range and charging are also very important aspects. The range is class-leading for both the Aion V and Aion UT.
We had the option to have smaller battery packs, but we looked at the market, we looked at what we wanted to stand for and we wanted to kind of future-proof the cars – the cars are going to go on for a long time. The longevity of Aion products in the car parc will also be a lot longer than for some other brands, I believe. Therefore, we felt the battery range should be future-proofed, as far as we could do that.
We’re obviously constantly evolving the Aion product offering, and I think GAC in China are very happy with the tuning we’ve done and the dynamics. The Aion UT is, I think, also one of the quickest cars in this class, but we’re not overly amplifying the performance aspect.
How will the Aion UT stand out from competition?
It’s in a vital market segment in the UK; it’s in the biggest non-SUV segment, B-segment hatchbacks. The Aion UT goes far beyond the usual brief of a B-segment car. For example, when driving on motorways it’s very stable, very refined, very planted, very confidence-inspiring, and it’s backed up by that long range and fast-charging.
Often people will refer to the B-segment as ‘supermini’, or ‘city car’. For me, we’ve always kept away from that because it undersells the full capability of the Aion UT.
If you chart at all the key things customers care about, like insurance group, performance, range, all those things and put it down the left-hand side, then across the top you overlay the competitive vehicles, and then you colour code it….we’ve got a lot of green on all the key elements customers care about.
So, it’s the balance of attributes, and the car’s capability goes far beyond what you’d expect from the B-segment.
How important is the Aion ‘Great 8’ for Aion customers?
When we first went to see GAC, we floated the idea to them in November last year, and they said it was a very good idea. An eight-year warranty is relatively becoming more the norm, but the servicing really differentiates us, and that’s the plan to go for with all the cars.
The Aion V is a C-segment SUV, which has a higher average price point than a B-segment hatchback, but the coverage is exactly the same with the Aion UT.
The Great 8 has been very well-received. We need to make sure we can get that message out across our various channels. The core product allows us to do the Great 8 because we looked at things like failure rates, and failure models in China are just very small because you’ve got that quality focus for manufacturing and our supply chains.
A small thing to mention aside is that GAC is really quite proud of its engagement with its tier one supply base. So, some manufacturers talk about how they have virtually integrated everything, but with a new brand how are you making – say, the headlights – how can you do this, in practical terms?
A small thing to mention aside is that GAC is really quite proud of its engagement with its tier one supply base.
We have partner companies such as Hella who we work with and have actually been doing it for decades and decades. We’re quite happy with the fact we engage with experts for the tier one part development and tier two as well.
How is the UK car market looking for Aion so far?
We’re looking to grow organically rather than force cars into the marketplace. We secured that strong residual value by having a good plan that companies have bought into. So, we are definitely in for the longer haul.
We’re not trying to hit a particular figure and we don’t want to be forcing a load of volume. There are of course those sales targets, but if you force the volume into the market first, you undermine residual values, so we want to be very careful in terms of how we operate.
What’s next for Aion in the UK?
We can talk about the Aion S7, it’s our D-segment SUV and it is a plug-in hybrid.
There are other models coming, so keep your eyes peeled at the Paris Motor Show.
There are some models that feel quite appropriate for the UK market. The work I do is designed to make sure they’re fully optimised for the UK. So, I’ve been in those cars for a while, and we have started that work already.
We’re going into segments that have that have a strong need for.
I think for us, with our brand DNA to be in there and provide customers with something different, we’re really quite excited about Aion S7.