GAC Aion LX arrives in October

The GAC Aion LX is now available to order in China and first deliveries are scheduled for this October. The 2WD variants have a starting price of 250.000 yuans (31.807 euros), while the 4WD has a starting price of 300.000 yuans (38.168 euros).

Available in three drivetrain configurations.

• AION LX 60/70: 135 kW (2WD)
• AION LX 80: 150 kW (2WD)
• AION LX 80D: 300 kW (4WD) able to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3,9 seconds

Available in two battery configurations.

• AION LX 60: 70 kWh battery made with NCM 523 battery cells from Farasis
• AION LX 80: 93 kWh battery made with NCM 811 battery cells from CATL

The battery capacity of the AION LX 70 variant is unknown.

NEDC range:

• AION LX 60: 503 km (313 miles)
• AION LX 70: 520 km (323 miles)
• AION LX 80: 650 km (404 miles)
• AION LX 80D: 600 km (373 miles)

While the NEDC range is very unrealistic, it’s interesting to note that the Tesla Model X in its long range version achieves a range of 565 km (351 miles) in NEDC.

The GAC Aion LX has a drag coefficient of 0,288 and the Tesla Model X has a drag coefficient of 0,25.

GAC Aion LX interior

GAC wants the Aion LX to be an alternative to the more expensive Tesla Model X, while the Aion S was designed to be an alternative to the Tesla Model 3.

It’s now clear that the best alternatives to Tesla’s electric cars are coming from Chinese automakers, instead of European automakers such as Audi, Mercedes or BMW. As European I still don’t know if this is funny or sad…