Ahead of Malaysia? GAC's Aion BEV brand to make Indonesian debut at GIIAS 2024 in June, CKD end of year
CY Foong · Apr 8, 2024 03:25 PM
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Aion, Guangzhou Automobile Group’s (GAC) fully electric (BEV) sub-brand announced it has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Indonesia’s Indomobil Group to distribute the brand in Southeast Asia’s largest automotive market.
Indomobil Group is one of the biggest automotive distributors in Indonesia. It handles Kia, Volkswagen, Nissan, Suzuki, Citroen, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), and Audi for the archipelago.
GAC Aion made its ASEAN debut in Thailand last year and announced that Thailand would serve as its hub for the region with the first phase of its Rayong plant to be completed in July 2024. 7 distributors from 4 ASEAN nations signed an agreement with the Chinese BEV maker at its Thai launch – Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Singapore.
However, it seems GAC Aion could also be setting up a production facility in Indonesia. During the agreement ceremony, Indomobil stated that it plans to begin local assembly (CKD) of Aion BEVs at its existing facilities in late 2024. This could only serve the domestic market.
The Indonesian distributor also hinted that two models will be unveiled at the 2024 Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) in June – the Aion Y Plus and the Aion Hyper HT.
Both BEVs are offered in Thailand with the Hyper HT just opened for bookings in the Kingdom at the 2024 Bangkok Motor Show.
GAC Aion is expected to be launched in Malaysia within the first half of 2024. It will be distributed by WTC Automotif (WTCA), a subsidiary of Warisan TC Holdings Berhad which is a part of the Tan Chong Group. The first model expected to be launched here is the Aion Y Plus which was previewed to the media at the end of January.
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