2026 GAC Aion V review
This new Chinese car company has huge plans for Australian dominance by promising something very different.
What makes GAC different from the 14 other Chinese car brands that have launched in Australia relatively recently?
Close ties to the likes of Toyota and Honda that, according to GAC, makes it the most Japanese option from China.
Following decades of working together on joint-venture products, GAC wants to show it isn’t just another Chinese car brand, giving it a point of difference from newcomers such as Deepal, Leapmotor and Zeekr.
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In fact, GAC Australia deputy managing director, Cheney Liang, says the brand isn’t trying to be the cheapest, or the most high-tech. He said that GAC will offer value and confidence in the reliability and the quality of the product – and that will be baked into assertive, but not cut-price, positioning.
“When people ask, ‘what’s the difference of GAC?’, I always tell them that what we are 100 per cent confident in the quality,” he said, calling out more than 20 years of working closely with cohorts from Japan on products for the Chinese market.
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Mr Liang said that in China, some customers weren’t happy with GAC’s pricing strategy, because it is slightly more expensive than other high-volume brands. But in essence, he also said that GAC is aiming to be like the Japanese option when it comes to choosing a Chinese car.
“This is what we learned from Honda and Toyota,” he said, referring to joint-venture programs that the business has had with those brands in China.
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“We use lots of technology and also the materials, which the customer may not see … but in the conception of GAC, when we build the car, we want everything to be perfect. Even – you might not use that function, but if we have that function in the car, we need to make it 100 per cent perfect.
Mr Liang explained that having a strong ownership promise is a key first step for the brand in the market. It has launched with an eight-year, unlimited kilometre warranty for electrified models (PHEVs and EVs), with the same cover for the high-voltage battery pack. GAC’s petrol offerings have a still-strong seven-year warranty plan.
“When we said quality, it’s not only just the quality of the car. It includes the quality of the sales service, the aftersales service, the warranty, roadside assistance,” he said.
Mr Liang explained that the first three models on sale – the Emzoom small petrol SUV, the Aion V electric midsize SUV, and the M8 PHEV luxury people mover – are just the beginning, and that the business needs to play in a number of key battlegrounds in the next two years to prove it is a serious option for customers to consider.
It will launch a new small electric hatch called the Aion UT in 2026, as well as a larger SUV. There’s also a pick-up truck / ute due in 2027, with an electrified powertrain a certainty.
GAC Aion V review
One vehicle that GAC is hoping will hit the ground running is the Aion V, a fully electric midsize SUV.
This is a pretty common formula in the Australian EV market – many new Chinese brands have offered a similar sort of product. But GAC is going with a no compromise mindset in terms of charging speed, battery size and driving range.
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It has more than 500 km of claimed EV driving from a full charge, with 11kW AC charging and 180kW DC charging on offer. Many of the rivals at this price point don’t offer those sorts of figures for this kind of cash. And the price? It isn’t the cheapest, but it’s hardly expensive, starting from about $46,000 drive-away.
It also delivers on standard spec, with the big touchscreen box ticked, a flash interior finish, and heated and ventilated front seats with electric adjustment. Plus a big glass roof is standard, too.
Those who aren’t a big fan of the shiny finishes in some new cars may not like the smudge-attracting touches around the cabin of this car, though.
The space is very competitive for the class, and you can get it with a space-saver spare wheel under the boot floor if that’s what you need.
Verdict
It’s not the most thrilling electric SUV to drive, but it isn’t disappointing in any particular way either. The comfort, handling, powertrain performance, and braking performance all stack up pretty well.
And with that very strong ownership promise, this one could be well worth a look if you’re looking for an electric SUV for less than $50,000. To top it off, it’s arguably one of the coolest looking EVs on the market.
4 stars
Originally published as 2026 GAC Aion V review
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