Aiways is the latest casualty of China’s cut throat new energy vehicle market. The company has reportedly chosen to withdraw from the Chinese market in order to focus on the European market. A number of joint venture brands have made similar moves over the last few years but with Aiways it is not a JV, but a Chinese brand.
Fast Technology reports an Aiways insider as saying “Due to pricing pressure and fierce competition in the Chinese market, we have no plans to continue to stay in the Chinese market.”
Aiways has always been quite unique in the Chinese EV market with it seeming to sell more cars overseas than in China. The company claimed to be the first fully Chinese brand selling electric cars in western Europe. Aiways has its European headquarters in Germany.
Fast Technology however reports that cumulative sales for Aiways have only just exceeded 10,000 and based on figures we have this is likely across all markets. In 2022 the last complete year of data we could find sales in Europe were just 1,237, a small increase over the 2021 figure of 996. Chinese sales figures also seem to abruptly end in April 2023. Sales in 2022 however were 1,364 down from 2,698 the year before.
Despite such bad sales Aiways has actually two models on sale the U5 SUV and the U6 coupe SUV. Cars are produced at a factory in Shangrao, Jiangxi Province which reportedly has capacity of up to 300,000 vehicles a year. Production ceased during the first half of last year due to a financial crisis and workers were unpaid. It seems that around August the CEO was replaced and the company underwent restructuring. What remains unclear is whether production ever resumed.
Aiways was founded in 2017 by Fu Qian (Samuel Fu) who had previously held executive positions in China with Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Volvo.
Under the new plan Aiways will continue to produce cars in China and export to Europe and other markets. Aiways along with Europe exports cars to Israel.
Editor’s note:
Aiways has since last year been one of China’s zombie NEV companies. While withdrawing from the Chinese market will save some resources it’s hard to believe that it will be enough to save the company. Although Aiways is or at least was on sale across more than 10 European countries the brand doesn’t seem able to attract sales in the quantity needed to operate. Sales in Germany in April were all of 2 cars and in the Netherlands they sold 86 last month!
Sources: Fast Technology, CN SUV, Good Car Bad Car,
They would have more success in the European market with a compact hatchback. The lack of hatchback offerings in the line up of most Chinese companies that are going overseas is something that surprises me! Every Legacy has at least one ICE entry-level hatchback model in its portfolio and I don’t understand why it’s not so common for EV companies to have an entry-level electric hatchback too.
Aiways Automobile Europe has merged with an American SPAC-company and will be listed on the NASDAQ.
In Germany, perhaps the former Aiways CPO, and former Audi Quattro development chief, Roland Gumpert, has helped along the overseas sales there in Europe.
Oh, and wasn’t AIWAYS spawned from the same wellspring of investors behind the now defunct Byton? Let’s hope that it doesn’t follow that short-lived start-up to the dustbin of industry history.
Car are too big for Europe and not too luch range for the price, sorry kid you got the gift but it seems you’re waiting for something…
I am afraid the company is most likely living on borrowed time, without a massive increase in sales or a clear turnaround plan I can’t see the company lasting more than 6 months.