This is the biggest partnership so far reached by a new Chinese car maker overseas, local media said.

(Image credit: Aiways)

Aiways, a Chinese startup that hasn't had much success in its home market, appears to be seeing significant success in overseas markets.

Aiways has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Bangkok, Thailand-based Phoenix EV, covering a procurement plan for a total of 150,000 electric vehicles (EVs), a report in local media Cailian said today.

This is the largest overseas tie-up plan reached so far by a new Chinese new carmaker, the report said, without providing further details.

The local new energy vehicle (NEV) maker that previously announced a large order overseas was BYD, which said in October that it had entered into a partnership with German car rental company SIXT, which has pledged to buy 100,000 BYD EVs over the next few years.

Aiways, founded in 2017, is a Chinese EV startup, yet it doesn't have much of a presence in its home market, instead being better known in international markets.

The company has a factory in Shangrao, Jiangxi, with an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles. It also has an R&D and design center in Shanghai, and battery pack factories in Changshu, Jiangsu and Europe.

Despite the rapid growth of China's NEV market in the past few years, Aiways has had a lukewarm performance.

Annual sales of Aiways were 2,600 units in 2020, 3,011 units in 2021 and 1,426 units in the first half of this year. The company has sold less than 15,000 total units worldwide since the launch of its first production vehicle, the Aiways U5.

Earlier this month, Aiways chairman Chen Xuanlin resigned and former CEO Yang Zhang became the company's chairman, marking the company's third executive team change this year.

The Aiways U6 SUV went on sale in China on October 13, the company's second model after the Aiways U5 SUV.