Aiways expands to further European markets
The Chinese electric car manufacturer Aiways has expanded the number of its European markets to 14 with Croatia, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Slovenia. Currently, however, only one model, the U5, is available, with a second to follow this year.
In January, Aiways had completed a financing round worth several hundred million dollars, which involved a comprehensive restructuring of the management team. As a result, former Nio executive Zhang Yang became Aiways’ new CEO. There were also reports that the investor-appointed management team would focus more on China rather than overseas markets. Aiways has nevertheless completed its entry into the four other European countries.
As the company writes, the additional funds are intended to “accelerate the development of the Aiways business globally” – with a particular focus on new launches, expanding manufacturing capacity, new products and sustainable mobility, improving the user experience and developing the brand’s digital capabilities.
“Much of the EU population can now buy the battery electric Aiways U5 SUV, which is a huge achievement for a young brand that’s faced unprecedent challenges over the last two years,” said Alex Klose, vice president of overseas operations at Aiways. He also announced plans to further expand its presence in Europe “with new markets and new products.” “Thanks to the investment and new members of the management board, we can accelerate the growth of our company in terms of digitalization, sales and, of course, brand awareness,” Klose added.
Aiways is also considering car manufacturing in Europe. In January, Klose had indicated that the location had not yet been determined and that they were “still at the very beginning.” “We would prefer to use an existing plant, it depends on the conditions,” Klose said at the time. The announcement on the market launch in the four countries makes no mention of European production.
Instead, Aiways reaffirms its strategy of launching a new model every year. This year it will be the U6, the SUV coupé to the U5. However, Aiways has not yet given an exact date for when the vehicle will be launched – there is also no information from the manufacturer about which products will follow from 2023.
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