Fresh rival enters EV fight
China’s latest move to upset the motoring establishment enters a saturated electric vehicle market. But that doesn’t mean it can’t make a splash.
Don’t pronounce China’s latest electric car manufacturer as “gack”.
No, GAC has nothing in common with 90s narcotics or the intriguingly named Children’s toy slime of the same period, and as such would prefer to be pronounced “gee-ay-see”.
The brand launches in Australia next month with big plans to shake up a saturated market.
Its headline act is the GAC Aion V, an electric mid-sized SUV that shapes up as a rival to the Tesla Model Y with 165kW of power, and about 510km range from a 75kWh battery.
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It looks sharp, which might be enough to tempt people away from rival upstarts such as Zeekr, Xpeng, Geely or Leapmotor.
The sharp-looking SUV will be joined by a plug-in hybrid van in the GAC M8 (we’ll assume that it’s not pronounced “mate”, though that would be fun), a boxy beast with long doors that slide to reveal a surprisingly luxurious cabin.
The brand will also introduce a compact SUV in the Emzoom.
The Guangzhou Automobile Group claims to be a “pioneer in quality, sustainability and design” with links to Toyota and Honda through joint ventures in China.
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Shaped in what the brand describes as a global network of modern design centres in Milan, Los Angeles, Shanghai and Guangzhou, it hopes to take market share from established brands.
Cheney Liang, deputy general manager of GAC’s local arm, said, “Launching GAC in Australia is an exceptional milestone for our brand”.
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“I have no doubt that Australian customers will welcome our range of high-quality, innovative models with keen interest, and become accustomed to the elevated ownership experience we are set to offer,” she said.
“Beyond our commitment to delivering exceptional products, our team is passionate about building meaningful relationships with our customers, dealers, industry and the broader community here in Australia, and we can’t wait to get started.”
Full details surrounding the brand’s models, including prices and exact specifications, will be announced at a later date.
Originally published as Fresh rival enters EV fight
