GAC's Aion Ray 7 saloon to be the first of a new family

The Aion brand has announced a new series aimed at a younger audience. The first model in the family will be a fairly large saloon with striking looks. The four-door will definitely be electrified.

The Aion marque is currently celebrating its birthday. The company that owns the brand, GAC Aion New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd., was founded on 28 July specifically to produce electric cars. The firm later became simply GAC Aion, and its line-up was expanded to include hybrids. Incidentally, the Aion brand itself claims on Chinese social media that it has turned 10 years old, although a local consumer website states that GAC Aion New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. was founded in 2017. Be that as it may, the announcement of the brand's new line-up – Ray (hello, Kia!) – is timed to coincide with this event. The series is primarily designed for young people, and its firstborn will be the Ray 7 saloon shown in the teasers.

The exterior of the Aion Ray 7 is executed in a new style for the brand, which was already previewed on the Aion N60 crossover van that launched in the spring. The main design feature is the twin LED strips for the daytime running lights housed in a single panel, with the rear lights styled in the same vein. The Aion Ray 7 saloon also gets semi-concealed door handles, a broken window line, and yellow brake callipers. There are 'cut-outs' in the bumpers. In addition, an advanced autopilot with a lidar above the windscreen is provided.

So far, only the length has been announced in terms of dimensions, and even that is approximate – around 5 metres. The interior has not yet been revealed either. Although it is clear that there will be a virtual instrument cluster and a large multimedia system tablet inside.

Of course, the Ray 7 is electrified, but again, no technical data is available yet. Aion only noted that the battery supplier is CATL.

It is likely that the Aion Ray 7 saloon will hit the domestic market before the end of this year. That means more details should be revealed in the coming months.

Meanwhile, the GAC sub-brand is also represented in Russia. The electric Aion V crossover is sold here.