Shanghai (ZXZC)- GAC AION, the wholly-owned NEV subsidiary of GAC Group, saw its new car deliveries surge 123% year on year to 14,566 units in November, the automaker announced on Dec. 1.

AION V; photo credit: AION

For the first eleven months of 2021, GAC AION delivered a total of 106,985 vehicles, achieving the 100,000-unit annual delivery goal ahead of schedule.

The current capacity of GAC AION’s manufacturing plant stands at 100,000 cars per year, namely, about 8,333 units on a monthly basis. The Nov. deliveries of nearly 15,000 units hinted at a capacity utilization rate of over 170%.

Amid the industry-wide chip shortage, GAC AION still achieved such a high capacity utilization rate thanks to its parent GAC Group’s massive global supply chain and deep bond with chip suppliers.

In September 2020, GAC Capital announced the investment in the AI-enabled chip developer Horizon Robotics through its subsidiary fund. At the same time, GAC Capital and GAC R&D Center formed a strategic cooperation and jointly launched the Journey 3 chips dedicated to GAC’s models.

GAC Group has set up a special team to cope with chip supply constraint and actively explore alternative chip solutions.

GAC AION aimed to double its plant’s capacity to 200,000 cars per year in early 2022. By 2023, the automaker’s total annual capacity is set to be raised to 400,000 units.