Shanghai (ZXZC)- GAC AION, the NEV-dedicated wholly-owned subsidiary of GAC Group, plans to build its second car manufacturing plant with a designed capacity of 200,000 vehicles per year. This proposal has been approved by GAC Group's board of directors.

According to GAC Group's statement, construction of the new plant is set to be completed in December 2022. The total investment of 1.81 billion yuan ($284.828 million) should be all raised by GAC AION itself.

GAC AION claimed in last April that it was about to upgrade the existing plant with the aim to double the annual capacity to 200,000 units. Thus, the NEV manufacturer will be capable of outputting 400,000 vehicles per year once both plants become fully operational.

In December 2021, GAC AION saw its retail sales soar 119% over a year ago to 16,675 units. For the year of 2021, the company also boasted a 119% year-on-year surge with 123,660 vehicles sold.

AION LX PLUS; photo credit: GAC AION

Unveiled at the Auto Guangzhou 2021, the AION LX PLUS will hit the market on Jan. 5. The model impresses the public with an operational range of up to 1,008km under the China light duty vehicle test cycle (CLTC).

GAC AION recently saw its registered capital grow to 6 billion yuan ($944.183 million) from 1.419 billion yuan ($223.294 million), according to the corporate database Tianyancha, indicating the company has fulfilled its internal capital restructuring.