China’s GAC has officially entered the Greek market with the launch of its AION V electric SUV, extending its European expansion as the automaker pursues a twin strategy of overseas manufacturing and next-generation battery development.
The Greece debut marks GAC’s fourth European market after launches in Finland, Poland and Portugal. Sales and aftersales operations in Greece will be supported through a distribution partnership with Inchcape, giving the Chinese automaker access to established dealer and service infrastructure in Southern Europe.
The AION V offers a driving range of up to 510 kilometres under the WLTP test cycle and supports rapid charging from 10% to 80% state of charge in about 24 minutes. GAC is offering an eight-year or 160,000-kilometre vehicle warranty and an eight-year or 200,000-kilometre battery warranty. The model has also achieved a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating.
The European rollout comes as GAC moves to localise production to reduce exposure to European Union tariffs on China-made electric vehicles. In November, GAC said the AION V will be manufactured at Magna’s plant in Graz, Austria, a facility capable of building petrol, hybrid and electric vehicles on shared production lines. The EU last year imposed provisional import duties of up to 37.6% on Chinese-made EVs, citing concerns over state subsidies.
GAC is also strengthening its battery supply chain at home. In November, state media reported that the automaker completed China’s first large-capacity all-solid-state battery production line. The facility is currently producing 60 ampere-hour vehicle-grade solid-state cells on a small-batch test basis, as GAC prepares for wider commercial deployment later this decade.
