Chinese Aiways plans to market its electric SUV, the U5, in the spring of 2020 in the Netherlands and elsewhere. This would make the U5 the first Chinese electric car to be launched in Europe.
Aiways has disclosed this to Quartz. For some time, all kinds of Chinese car manufacturers have been trying to gain a foothold outside the Chinese market. In Europe, however, Chinese car brands are only marginally popular; in figures from trade association ACEA on newly registered passenger vehicles in Europe for the first quarter of 2019, not a single Chinese car manufacturer appears.
Available from spring 2020
Aiways is not deterred by this. This Chinese carmaker describes itself as a "new-energy vehicle company" and aims to drive the evolution of the automotive industry. The manufacturer tells Quartz it plans to launch its electric SUV U5 on the European market from spring 2020. The vehicle will initially be available in Germany, France, Norway, Switzerland and the Netherlands. This will make Aiways the first Chinese carmaker to launch an electric vehicle in the European market.
The U5 is an all-electric SUV that can be charged via a plug. The SUV's batteries are made intelligent, which Aiways says extends the vehicle's range by 100 kilometres. With a full battery, the SUV has a range of more than 560 kilometres. An Intelligent Battery Management System is also present, which gives drivers pointers to further increase their battery life. The battery has a capacity of 63 kWh, while the vehicle weighs 1,730 kg.
The SUV is powered by an electric motor with a maximum output of 140 kW and a maximum tractive effort of 315 nm. The car is 4.68 metres long, 1.88 metres wide and 1.68 metres high. The vehicle's wheelbase is 2.80 metres.
Driving assistance systems
The U5 comes with various driving assistance systems. These include automated assistance systems for highway use, which include adaptive cruise control. Also available is an automatic parking function and a function that relieves the driver during traffic jam driving. The U5's software can be updated over-the-air, with updates being sent to the vehicle via the internet. Therefore, the U5 does not need to go to the garage for a software update.
Aiways' plans are ambitious, partly because mass production of the U5 for the Chinese home market has yet to start. The company has already secured the necessary licence for this and expects to start production in September. This will involve collaboration with Chinese carmaker Jiangling Motors. Eight months later, the company plans to bring the model to the European market already.
Online sales and leasing
To sell the U5, Aiways, unlike most car manufacturers, is not putting in a dealer network. Alexander Klose, responsible for foreign operations at Aiways, tells the Financial Times that the company is opting for online sales and leases. Through this strategy, the Chinese company wants to reduce costs, which should help it compete better with cars with a traditional internal combustion engine. Aiways is also holding talks with Vehiculum, a German startup that has developed an online platform for leased cars.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: Aiways
Source: Quartz
