The Chinese car market in 2024 is not bustling. From the price war that started at the beginning of the year to wave after wave of public opinion wars, the competition between car companies and the changes in consumer perception of the market have not stopped for a moment.

　　Especially in the new energy vehicle market, it was thought that the pace of electrification transformation would continue to accelerate. However, who would have thought that the emergence of a series of plug-in hybrid/extended range new cars would change the entire industry situation in the most realistic way. With the market penetration rate of pure electric vehicles no longer growing rapidly, almost everyone assumes that "if new energy vehicles want to sell well, they must be able to burn gasoline".

　　Given the current environment, it's no wonder that the market vitality of pure electric vehicles such as Tesla, NIO, and Aion was consistently suppressed last year.

　　What's even more interesting is that, in terms of corporate promotion, as a brand that only sells pure electric cars and has sold nearly 400000 units throughout the year, Aion almost "missed" all of its competitors' monthly sales charts.

　　Some people say that from the perspective of new forces, Ai'an, backed by Guangzhou Automobile Group, does not belong to this camp; From the perspective of consumer channels, the fact that Aion has delivered new cars to "big customers" hinders the fairness of data statistics.

　　But to be honest, when they differentiate between Ai'an and new state-owned enterprises such as Lantu, Zhiji, and Shenlan, or a group of brands that can only sell green brand hybrid cars well, who can simply regard the former as a representative of taking advantage of the situation?

　　In 2024, when market competition becomes the norm and "selling cars to make money" has become a luxury for enterprises, regardless of external evaluations, Ai'an is indeed full of enthusiasm to compete with its friends.

　　In the first few months of last year, due to changes in market demand, Aion's monthly sales did indeed experience a year-on-year decline. The subsequent hybrid attack by competitors also weakened the competitive advantage of Aion's models at the source. However, this seems to have laid a foundation for Aion's subsequent planning.

　　The brand innovation has entered the 2.0 era, which is the most impressive change that Aion has made to the outside world in 2024.

　　Firstly, after a year of product innovation, Aion finally underwent a complete overhaul of its products, with the successive appearances of the second-generation AION V, RT, and UT, which basically covered several mainstream pure electric vehicle markets.

　　Furthermore, establish a global development perspective and build factories at the forefront of overseas markets. Regarding the topic of "Chinese cars going global", Ai'an has provided his own answer.

　　Secondly, after absorbing the remaining production capacity of GAC Mitsubishi, after a comprehensive system balancing, the dual brands of Aion and Haobo have a more refined division of labor, and the marketing strategy targeting young people has been picked up again. The management of the enterprise completed a reorganization last year with the group headquarters' "going to the countryside" campaign.

　　As of the end of December last year, after months of hard work, Aion significantly narrowed its year-on-year monthly sales data, with annual sales reaching 374884 vehicles. All of this can be said to have laid the foundation for this year's rebound. At present, with the focus on the most vibrant and high-volume pure electric market below 100000 yuan, we may as well observe its changes in 2025.

　　New car, sales, GAC Aion

　　Accumulate momentum for better reform

　　Under the combined influence of various factors, we are well aware that the suffocating feeling of "life or death" will echo throughout 2024. The strong have their own anxiety, afraid that the latecomers will take over; The weak have their own powerlessness, and their weak consumption power is sticking "life-saving talismans" at their gates.

　　After years of rapid growth, Ian will also have his own considerations. When the pure electric market is no longer as high as before, and the price war is forcing everyone to stick to selling cars at a loss, how can we defend ourselves and break through?

　　There are no new cars and no PHEVs. We are missing a part of our technical roadmap, and our product line cannot cover it. It is normal to encounter difficulties. "In the middle of last year, Gu Huinan, the general manager of Aion, also candidly faced Aion's situation. But the market is undergoing such irrational changes, do you think Ian would be willing to accept it?

　　Squatting is for better jumping. In the past, companies always liked to use such rhetoric to embellish their market performance. Anyway, for Ai'an, after years of market accumulation, hibernation is actually certain.

　　And this year, when the product advantages of green brand hybrid cars were placed ahead of pure electric cars, what Aion did the most and most noteworthy was to expand its product line and reshape its brand image.

　　The launch of the second generation AION V is a manifestation of Aion's desire to make a difference in the 150000 to 200000 yuan SUV segment. In fact, with the concept of "advanced intelligent driving equality" being put on this car body, compared to the past, the consumer group targeted by Aion has a more concrete description.

　　In the household car market at this price point, car companies are always cautious about promoting pure electric vehicles. Especially after BYD entered this field, it is not easy to snatch food from the tiger's mouth.

　　Therefore, when the outside world began to make judgments that the market volume accumulated by Ian in the past could not withstand scrutiny. Starting from the second generation AION V, what Aion wants is to quickly change its brand image. The attitude of Chinese users towards electric vehicles has long moved away from their previous skeptical state, which means that the electric vehicle market in the price range of 100000 to 200000 yuan has great potential.

　　In other words, "popularizing intelligent driving" is the core demand of Aion's new product line, but a more practical point is that Aion wants to catch up with others only by maximizing the recognition of ordinary consumers.

　　In the months following the launch of the second-generation AION V, the price war continued to be very intense, and the positive feedback in the end market did give Aion confidence.

　　Doing business is not afraid of encountering obstacles, but afraid of not being able to see clearly the path ahead. "Long ago, the title of" King of Online Car hailing "made Ai'an laugh and cry. From then until today, these new releases in 2024 undoubtedly liberated Ai'an from the shackles of image.

　　From the second-generation AION V Tyrannosaurus rex to the AION RT velociraptor, and then to the AION UT parrot dragon, you can say that Ian is taking advantage of the situation, but I believe that this is a brand new beginning for Ian to clarify his thoughts.

In December, the sales of a single model of the Aion RT exceeded 16000 units, returning to the track of positive growth on the same and month on month basis

On the one hand, during the communication meeting after the pre-sale of AION UT, Xiao Yong, Vice General Manager of Aion, highly praised RT's market performance. On the other hand, from his absolute confidence in UT's new car product strength, it can be seen that after a year of market testing, Ai'an has a clear understanding of how to go next.

Not long ago, with the relocation of Guangzhou Automobile Group's headquarters from Guangzhou city to Panyu, a series of integration actions were launched within the group. In particular, the establishment of independent brand marketing headquarters (including GAC Motor Marketing Headquarters, Aion Marketing Headquarters, Haobo Marketing Headquarters) aims to transform the management mode of independent brands from strategic control to operational control, complete the unified scheduling of independent brand research, production, supply and marketing, promote resource concentration to the front line, further reduce operating costs, and improve management efficiency. The ultimate goal is to enhance the overall combat effectiveness of the group's independent brands.

From the perspective of Aion, since fierce market competition cannot be avoided, it is necessary to optimize the system in addition to promoting the landing of new products.

Just like on January 13th, as the new CEO of GAC Haobo brand, Ma Haiyang gave a speech with the theme of "Haobo, Let's Go Again!", launching a new journey for GAC Haobo and promoting comprehensive reform!

Recognizing reality, we also need to position ourselves correctly

What kind of momentum will the Chinese car market develop downward in 2025? Actually, the current market environment has already told us a little. Everyone is fighting against internal competition and trying to correct the price war, but in reality, at this stage where the entire industry is fighting fiercely, no one can be alone.

Continuing the price war and launching public opinion attacks will still become a means for companies to secretly compete with each other. With such predictions, if Ai'an wants to sweep away the development gloom this year, it must not only consider the product itself.

From the establishment of technical labels to the reshaping of marketing methods, from improving the system of dual brand development, to channel optimization, user service and other changes based on the end market, Aion has no reason to make any mistakes in any aspect.

Last year, due to the fact that Aion did not invest in plug-in hybrid/range extender cars before they became popular, its choice of technological path ultimately resulted in a significant impact on its sales and volume.

Although Gu Huinan, the general manager of Aion, said in a media interview, "We are masters in extending the range," the fact is that when a large number of new energy vehicle companies turn around and play with green license plate hybrid cars, Aion should put their actions into practice as soon as they feel the pressure.

　　Well, in the new year, we already know that for Aion, the fierce market competition and changing consumer trends are the things they need to constantly pay attention to when grasping the market share of the car industry.

　　On the other hand, based on Aion's review of its own development last year, going global is also a sales growth point. This means that Ananshi must put a lot of effort into its export business.

　　Despite Guangzhou Automobile Group's annual export volume reaching 127000 vehicles last year, a year-on-year increase of 67.6%, there is still a lot of room for improvement in this figure when compared horizontally.

　　In the past two years, influenced by local policies, Ai'an has indeed established maritime front lines in various parts of Southeast Asia. With the completion of the Thai factory, multiple models under AION have the capital to be listed and sold in multiple countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. In the future, AION may establish seven production and sales bases in Europe, South America, Africa, the Middle East, East Asia, and other regions.

　　But we must be clear that "going global with cars" has basically become a strategic decision that every car company will mention as the front line of development in 2025. A gradual approach can be applied to the initial development of a brand going global. Once there are signs of a shift from blue to red in the market, the expansion path left for Aion will not be as smooth as in previous years.

A new era has begun. Backed by the new energy industry, China's automobile industry has flourished in the East, providing a fertile ground for its own self rise. After growing up for 7 years, Ian also emerged from his immaturity in this experience. At present, after experiencing the stage from 0 to 1, there is still a long way to go for Mr. Aion to cross from 1 to truly represent the era of Chinese automobiles.