GAC Group sold a total of 2,433,801 vehicles through 2022, representing a 13.5% year-on-year growth. In the same year, it produced 2,479,911 vehicles in total, which grew 15.99% from the year-ago period.

ZXZC hereby selected some significant news to show GAC Group's development progress in 2022, and you will see the Guangzhou-based auto group is acting rather aggressive in new energy vehicle development, in-house R&D of core NEV components, intelligent driving, and other fields.

Photo credit: GAC Group

GAC AION starts selling AION LX PLUS BEV with 1,008km of CLTC range

GAC AION saw its long-anticipated new all-electric SUV model, the AION LX PLUS, hit the market on Jan. 5.

The AION LX PLUS measures 4,835mm long, 1,935 mm wide, and 1,685mm tall with a wheelbase that spans 2,920mm. Compared to the AION LX, the PLUS version is 49mm longer, while the length of the wheelbase remains unchanged.

GAC AION doubles NEV plant's production capacity

GAC AION on Feb. 18 announced the completion of the production capacity expansion project for its Guangzhou-based vehicle plant.

Starting production in April 2019, GAC AION's current plant features an annual production capacity of 100,000 NEVs initially. By the end of 2021, the plant hit a capacity utilization rate of over 140%. The milestone indicated its yearly capacity had doubled to 200,000 units.

GAC AION bags 2.566 billion yuan in capital increase, to begin A funding round

GAC AION had already completed a new round of capital increase with a total of 2.566 billion yuan raised, the NEV maker announced on March 17.

Of the aforesaid capital secured, 1.782 billion yuan were contributed by the equity incentive objects consisting of 679 employees with GAC AION and 115 R&D staff members of GAC R&D Center.

GAC Group plans to build energy subsidiary for power, battery recycling ecosystem

GAC Group announced on Mar. 22 its board of directors had approved the plan to build an energy subsidiary, as part of efforts to strengthen the building of EV power network and ultimately achieve carbon neutrality.

Temporarily named GAC Energy Ecosystem Technology Co., Ltd. (“GAC Energy”), the subsidiary would be established to develop a power supply ecosystem that integrates EV charging, battery swapping and energy storage, and an ecosystem for battery recycling, according to GAC Group’s announcement.

GAC Honda launches pure electric car brand ‘e:NP’

GAC Honda launched on March 29 the new all-electric vehicle brand "e:NP" (named "Ji Pai" in Chinese) with the brand strategy released at the same time, making it the first joint venture in China to have a standalone BEV brand.　

The automaker explained the meaning of each letter of the brand name. The “e” stands for “energize” and “electric”, the “N” stands for “New” and “Next”, and the “P” stands for “Prime”.

GAC Honda to stop production, sales of Acura-branded cars from 2023

GAC Honda would discontinue the production and sales of the existing vehicle models under its high-end car brand, GAC Acura, in the beginning of 2023, the Sion-Japanese joint venture announced on April 8.

The move was part of the efforts to further promote the implementation of GAC Honda's electrification strategy. The automaker said it would fully integrate the brand resources of GAC Acura to advance its electrification business.

GAC Capital, Yuexiu Industrial Fund to team up in investment in NEV, ICV industrial chains

GAC Capital, the capital operation and equity investment & financing platform of GAC Group, inked a strategic cooperation agreement with Yuexiu Industrial Fund on Apr. 8 for the investment layouts focusing on the new energy vehicle and intelligent-connected vehicle industrial chains, according to a post on GAC Group's WeChat account.

The cooperation would leverage both parties' advantages in technologies, capital and other industrial resources, and their parent companies' industrial superiority in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

GAC Group, Technology Financial Group join hands to co-build auto industrial fund

On April 20, GAC Group inked a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Technology Financial Group (“TFG”), a Guangdong-based state-owned investment firm, to step up the collaboration on automotive industrial chain, according to a post on GAC Group's WeChat account.

Under the agreement, both parties planned to join hands with relevant industrial capital firms, local government-backed funds, financial capital institutions, and social capital organizations to set up an automotive industrial fund by leveraging TFG's expertise and resources in the venture capital field and GAC Group's technical advantages and resources in the automotive industry. The joint fund would be used to provide financial support for the development of automotive industry.

GAC AION launches first super charging & battery swap station

GAC AION held an online ceremony on April 21 to announce the launch of its first super charging & battery swap center. The significant facility is located on the South Trunk Line.

At the same time, the NEV manufacturer claimed it planned to build Guangzhou into the world's first “AION supercharging capital” by deploying the aforesaid charging & battery swap centers, and other facilities.

GAC's On Time mobility bags over RMB1 billion, to launch Robotaxis with Pony.ai

On April 26th, GAC Group-backed mobility platform On Time announced the completion of its series A financing round, raising over a billion yuan.

The round was led by GAC Group, and participated by domestic autonomous driving developers Pony.ai and WeRide, SPARX Group, Pilgrim Partners Asia, Guangzhou Industrial Investment and Capital Operation Holding Group, Lingnan Group, and GIIHG.

GAC Group announces new shareholding increase by controlling shareholder

GAC Group announced in early May its controlling shareholder, Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group (“GAC Industry Group”), had purchased another 2.42 million HK-traded shares at HKD6.53 per share, which accounted for 0.02% of GAC Group's total outstanding stock.

Upon completion of the new shareholding increase, GAC Industry Group would hold 5,502,360,069 shares in GAC Group, equivalent to 52.58% of the latter's total share capital.

GAC AION's R&D center moves to new building

On May 17, the R&D center of GAC AION officially moved into a new building, indicating the NEV maker was speeding up the independent development that integrates research, production, and sales, GAC AION announced via its WeChat account.

The latest move came after GAC Group completed a significant internal restructuring on November 29, 2021, which made GAC AION take over the R&D staff of GAC R&D Center's all-electric unit.

GAC Honda's e:NP1 all-electric SUV starts at 175,000 yuan

GAC Honda's e:NP1 all-electric SUV starts at 175,000 yuanGAC Honda, the joint venture between The e:NP1, the first production model under GAC Honda's all-electric vehicle brand e:NP, officially hit the market on June 20. Coming with four trim levels, the new model is priced between 175,000 yuan and 218,000 yuan after subsidies.

The e:NP1 made its debut at the Auto Guangzhou 2021 in November last year. Its Chinese name “Ji Pai 1” was announced on March 29 this year, when GAC Honda launched the brand “e:NP” (named “Ji Pai” in Chinese).

GAC Group launches super iron lithium battery

GAC Group introduced its new-generation super iron lithium battery built on microcrystalline technology (SmLFP) at the 2022 GAC TECH DAY on June 28th.

According to GAC Group, batteries powered by the SmLFP technology has 13.5% higher cell quality energy density than regular mass-produced iron phosphate lithium battery cells that are currently on the market. Meanwhile, it also features 20% higher volume energy density and 10% capacity at the -20°C low temperature. The SmLFP technology allows over 2C of quick charge and more than 1.5 million kilometers of power battery life, solving the performance equilibrium problem.

GAC AION announces pre-quotation for A round of strategic investor introduction

GAC AION said the pre-quotation for its A round of strategic investor introduction began on July 18 at Guangdong United Assets and Equity Exchange.

The move indicated the further opening of financing following the completion of an employee stock ownership project in March this year, the NEV maker added. While improving the company's management structure and building a market-oriented shareholder architecture, GAC AION expected to further strengthen its full-chain resource allocation capability and market competitiveness.

Stellantis intends to terminate joint venture with GAC Group

Stellantis announced on July 18 the plan to focus on distributing imported vehicles for the Jeep brand in China to leverage the brand's potential and iconic products through an asset-light approach.

The automobile group said the decision was made partly due to a lack of advancement in the previously announced plan for Stellantis to take a majority share of its joint venture with GAC Group.

GAC Group, SenseTime ally on intelligent driving, metaverse, smart cockpit

GAC Group announced on July 26 it had already signed a framework agreement with SenseTime, a Chinese AI platform company, to carry out strategic cooperation in a slew of fields including intelligent driving and metaverse.

Under the agreement, both parties would explore cooperation opportunities in such domains as intelligent driving, smart cockpit, automotive intelligence and connectivity, automotive metaverse, AI tool chain, and supercomputing center by leveraging GAC Group’s strengths in vehicle production and R&D, as well as SenseTime's leading AI technologies.

GAC AION announces establishment of energy subsidiary

GAC AION announced on July 26 the formal establishment of GAC Energy Technology Co., Ltd. it jointly built with GAC Group, marking substantial progress following GAC Group's approval to set up this company on March 22.

According to the corporate information provider Tianyancha, the new company was incorporated on July 19. It would operate businesses like the construction and operation of EV charging and battery swapping network, technology development, the operation and management of battery assets, energy transaction, electricity production from solar power, energy storage technology, as well as data processing and storage, with around 4.96 billion yuan to be invested over the next several years.

GAC Group to build subsidiary for electric drive system production

GAC Group announced on August 11 it would invest a total of 2.16 billion yuan in building an electric drive technology subsidiary.

The new subsidiary would be held as to 23%, 26%, and 51% by GAC Group, GAC Motor, and GAC AION, respectively. It would complete construction of production lines by 2025, with an annual production capacity of 400,000 sets of IDU (Integrated Drive Unit) electric drive assembly and 100,000 sets of the GMC electromechanical coupling system's electric motors and electric drive units.

Ganfeng Lithium to supply battery raw materials to GAC AION

Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd., one of the world's top producers of battery-grade lithium, announced on August 19 that it had signed an agreement with GAC AION to form a long-term strategic partnership on the development of battery raw materials and recycling of decommissioned new electric vehicle batteries.                                         

Under the agreement, Ganfeng Lithium would provide reliable and cost-effective battery raw materials for GAC AION and the EV maker's potential suppliers, so as to help the partner build NEV projects and enhance AION brand's additional technology value and competitiveness.

GAC Trumpchi starts presale of EMKOO SUV

GAC Trumpchi, the self-owned passenger vehicle brand of GAC Motor, saw its 3 millionth complete vehicle, an EMKOO SUV, roll off the production line on August 18.

The company kicked off the presale of the EMKOO at the same time. As a strategic model embodying GAC Trumpchi’s resolution to become a new energy technology company, the EMKOO would come with 6 trim levels, featuring a presale price range of 13,200 yuan to 17,200 yuan.

GAC Group to build self-owned battery subsidiary

GAC Group announced on Aug. 25 its board of directors had approved the proposal of building a battery subsidiary dedicated to the industrialization of the group's self-owned battery business.

The new subsidiary, dubbed Lvqingg ("Green Engine"), would be held as to 51%, 40%, and 9% by GAC AION, GAC Motor, and GAC Business, respectively. The project would involve an investment of 10.9 billion yuan.

GAC AION officially quotes A-round strategic investor introduction project

GAC AION officially quoted its A-round strategic investor introduction project on the Guangzhou Enterprises Mergers and Acquisitions Services on August 26, allowing eligible investors to sign up to take part in the capital increase between August 26 and September 23, according to a post on GAC AION's WeChat account.

The automaker said it would dilute around 15% of its equity interests to introduce no more than 70 strategic investors. Each investor should pour at least 100 million yuan.

Honda China, Dongfeng Motor, GAC Group to build battery procurement joint venture

Honda Motor (China) Investment Co., Ltd. ("Honda China") announced on Sept. 7 it had signed an agreement with its two Chinese partners, namely Dongfeng Motor Group Company Limited ("Dongfeng Motor") and GAC Group, on August 31 to build a joint venture dedicated to power battery procurement at the end of September this year.

Named HDG (Beijing) Trading Service Co., Ltd. ("HDG"), the soon-to-be-launched joint venture would be registered in Beijing. Honda China, Dongfeng Motor, and GAC Group would invest in the joint venture at a ratio of 50:25:25.

GAC Mitsubishi inaugurates new R&D center

GAC Mitsubishi Motors, the joint venture among GAC Group, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, and Mitsubishi Corporation, inaugurated its new R&D center on Sept. 13, which would help the automaker greatly boost the R&D of its proprietary products and technologies.

GMMC launched the R&D center construction project in October 2018 and broke ground on the center in December 2019. Covering an area of 195mu (130,000 square meters) and involving a total investment of 670 million yuan, the R&D center contains such facilities as a scientific research building, a comprehensive laboratory, a new energy vehicle laboratory, an EMC laboratory, a styling studio, as well as a trial production workshop.

GAC AION unveils all-electric supercar starting at 1.286 million yuan

GAC AION on Sept. 15 released its fire new logo, dubbed “AI Shen Jian (AI Magic Arrow)”, indicating that it had ushered in a new development era.

According to the company's introduction, the all-new logo is inspired by the brand's English name “AION”. It is an artistic combination of the brand name's first two letters—“A” and “I”, rendering a visual effect of a soaring arrow, which stands for a robust development of AI technologies. Besides, “AI” is also the Chinese pinyin of “love”, embodying a romantic blessing to the world.

GAC AION sees production start at second plant

GAC AION announced via its WeChat account that its second intelligent manufacturing center officially started operation on October 12, signifying a milestone in the automaker's expansion of production capacity.

GAC AION completed the construction of its first plant in 2018 with an initial production capacity of 100,000 vehicles per year. In Feb. this year, the company fulfilled an expansion project at the first factory, lifting its total annual production capacity to 200,000 units.

GAC AION fulfills Series A round with valuation topping 100 billion yuan

GAC AION had completed its Series A financing with 18.294 billion yuan raised, the largest-ever volume for a single-round private placement searchable in China's new energy complete vehicle industry over the past several years, according to an announcement GAC Group released on Oct. 20.

GAC AION officially quoted its A-round fundraising project on the Guangzhou Enterprises Mergers and Acquisitions Services on August 26. The fresh round's completion has made the registered capital of GAC AION increased to 7.803 billion yuan from 6.421 billion yuan, resulting in GAC Groups' shareholding (including both directly- and indirectly-owned) in GAC AION reduced by 16.56 percentage points to 76.89%.

GAC Group inaugurates R&D Center Europe, Milan-based design studio

On Oct. 26 (local time), GAC Group inaugurated in Italy the GAC R&D Center Europe and GAC Advanced Design Milan, as part of efforts to further promote the auto giant's overseas business strategy.

Located in Via Tortona 16, Milan, Italy, the newly-launched design studio covers a total floor area of over 470 square meters. In the earlier stage after its business opening, the GAC Advanced Design Milan would focus on the early-phase interior and exterior concept design and development of mass-produced models, and the research of forward-looking subjects, with Europe's local automobile culture taken into account and its European team's extensive experience of mass-produced model development to be leveraged. Later on, it would expand its R&D works to other cutting-edge technology fields depending on its development requirements.

GAC AION sets up subsidiary for in-house battery R&D, production

Yinpai Battery Technology Co., Ltd. ("Yinpai" is Chinese pinyin) was incorporated on Oct. 26 as a majority-owned subsidiary of GAC AION, according to the corporate data inquiry platform Qichacha.

With a registered capital of 1 billion yuan, the newborn company is co-held by GAC AION, GAC Motor, and GAC Business. Located in Panyu district, Guangzhou city, Yinpai features a line of businesses covering manufacturing of new energy vehicle batteries, R&D of battery materials, and relevant technical services.

Pony.ai's Robotaxi fleet goes online on GAC-backed Ontime ride-hailing platform

Pony.ai's autonomous driving mobility service (Robotaxi) was officially available on GAC Group’s ride-hailing service platform, Ontime, Pony.ai announced on October 27.

Pony.ai's would cooperate with Ontime to start mixed operation of Robotaxi, which would integrate general manned vehicles and autonomous vehicles. Users in Nansha District, Guangzhou, would have the chance to hail a Pony.ai Robotaxi via the Ontime mobile App. The mixed operation indicates that the penetration rate of Robotaxis in core cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong- Macau Greater Bay Area would be greatly increased, and the large-scale implementation of autonomous driving technology in urban scenarios would be further accelerated.

GAC AION launches new premium BEV-dedicated platform AEP 3.0

GAC AION on Nov. 3 launched its new-generation platform dedicated to premium battery electric vehicles (BEVs), named AEP 3.0, which would be applied in the models under AION's Hyper premium car brand first.

According to GAC AION, the AEP 3.0 platform boasts a supercar-level electric drive technology. Using the X-PIN flat wire and intelligent multi-mode gear shifting technologies, the platform enables a vehicle to zip from 0-100km/h in 4.9 seconds driven by an electric motor and in as low as 1.9 seconds under the two-motor-drive condition. The maximum speed for an AEP 3.0-powered vehicle can reach 300km/h.

GAC Capital leads C2 financing round of autonomous driving startup Holomatic

China's autonomous driving solution developer Holomatic announced in early Nov. the completion of its C2 financing round, which was led by GAC Capital.

According to Holomatic, the proceeds from the C2 round would be put towards technology innovation and R&D of high-level autonomous driving, as well as large-scale production. Prior to the fresh financing round, Holomatic closed its C1 round in November 2021 with GAC Capital being the investor as well. Upon completion of the C2 round, Holomatic had so far raised roughly $100 million in its Series-C financing.

GAC Group breaks ground on factory of Yinpai Battery Technology

On Dec. 11, GAC Group broke ground on the factory of Yinpai Battery Technology Co., Ltd. ("Yinpai Battery"), which was set up to help the Guangzhou-based auto giant build its own strengths in R&D and production of power batteries, according to a post on GAC Group's WeChat account.

Involving a total investment of 10.9 billion yuan and covering an area of around 666 mu (444,000 square meters), Yinpai Battery would feature a comprehensive industrial chain that embraces R&D, design, smart manufacturing, sale, and services of power batteries.

GAC Group's mobility service platform Ontime launches Robotaxi car management system

GAC Group's ride-hailing service platform, Ontime, officially launched its Robotaxi vehicle management system on December 14.

According to Ontime, the in-house developed system focuses on three major aspects, namely vehicle asset management, operation management, and service management. It is equipped with comprehensive management and service capabilities, including Robotaxi vehicle and kit inventory and archiving, operable area and station management, real-time vehicle location and driving status monitoring, fleet operation, intelligent assessment of vehicle service status, charging and replenishment and maintenance, vehicle insurance, accident and violation handling, etc.

GAC Group teams up with China Southern Power Grid's subsidiary in energy ecosystem

On Dec. 15, GAC Group and Southern Power Grid Electric Power Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Southern Power Grid (CSG), inked an MoU to carry out strategic cooperation in energy ecosystem and industrial chain, according to a post on GAC Group's WeChat account.

Under the MoU, both companies would leverage their respective professional advantages and unique technologies to conduct a comprehensive collaboration in the fields like the source-grid-load-storage integration, new-type energy storage, microgrid, virtual power plant, and battery recycling.

GAC Toyota NEV production capacity expansion project's 2nd phase starts operation

On Dec. 20, 2022, the second phase of GAC Toyota's new energy vehicle (NEV) production capacity expansion project (called "second-phase project" for short) was officially put into operation in Nansha District, Guangzhou city, according to a post on GAC Group's WeChat account.

Covering an area of 740,000 square meters, the second-phase project features an annual production capacity of 200,000 NEVs. Compared to the first phase, the proportion of the facilities locally sourced in China has been raised to 98.8% at the second phase.

GAC Group, HEC Technology, Zunyi city to team up on lithium battery industrial chain

GAC Group, the municipal government of Zunyi city, and Guangdong HEC Technology Holding Co., Ltd. (“HEC Technology”) entered into a strategic cooperation framework agreement on Dec. 27 to co-build an industrial chain for lithium ion batteries, according to a post on GAC Group's WeChat account.

Under the framework agreement, the three parties would team up on the projects of energy, the extraction, utilization, and commercialization of mineral resources from aluminum polymetallic ore deposits, and the deep processing of aluminum when the conditions are mature.

GAC breaks ground on electric drive subsidiary's factory

On Dec. 29, GAC Group-backed Ruipai Power Technology Co., Ltd. ("Ruipai") broke ground on a manufacturing base, which would start producing new-generation electric drive systems in 2023, according to GAC AION.

According to the corporate information inquiry platform Tianyancha, Ruipai was incorporated on Oct. 20 this year with a registered capital of 900 million yuan. It was jointly owned by GAC AION (51%), GAC Motor (26%), and GAC Group (23%).