Bangkok Auto Show: GAC Aion ES debuts at the Bangkok Auto Show, priced at 850,000 Thai Baht

At the 45th Bangkok Motor Show, we saw the Aion ES but Aion might still be relatively unfamiliar to many people. It belongs to China's GAC Group and is its pure electric brand, so all its models are 100% electrically driven. Not only Aion ES and Aion Y Plus are present at the motor show, but also its high-end brand, Hyper.

Unlike the Aion Y Plus, the Aion ES initially entered the Thai market mainly for commercial vehicles like taxis. It is known that a large number of taxis in the Chinese market are also using this car. On one hand, we see that the price of Aion ES is not particularly high. Additionally, commercial vehicles pose a high test to the quality of the car itself, which indirectly reflects Aion ES's confidence in its reliability. However, compared with taxis, the retail price of Aion ES for domestic use is 850,000 Thai Baht, which is slightly cheaper.

In terms of exterior design, Aion ES adopts a more conventional design for electric vehicles. The closed front face does not have much decoration, and the shape of the front headlights is not as exuberant as Aion Y Plus, which gives a standard and conventional feeling overall. The body lines emphasize a smooth dynamic sense, while the rear end adopts a common through-type design without many details.

The dimensions of the Aion ES are 4810×1880×1545mm with a wheelbase of 2750mm. Considering its price, such a large three-box sedan is relatively inexpensive, which is a major competitive advantage of Aion ES. It can provide abundant rear space and trunk space, while the price is also easily accepted by most families.

However, judging from the interior, Aion ES still lacks some concentrated highlights. The interior design is rather traditional, and while it seemingly has a twin-screen design, they are two separate screens, and the dashboard still uses a traditional mechanical display, not a full LCD. The current mainstream design for electric cars is a large size central control screen plus a full LCD dashboard, or even AR HUD replacing the traditional dashboard, but the Aion ES still feels quite traditional, even the seat adjustment is manual.

Aion ES offers a single-pedal mode, but it is not recommended when carrying passengers, as frequent acceleration and deceleration can make passengers dizzy. Aion ES is equipped with a permanent magnet synchronous motor with a maximum power of 100kW (136PS), which aims to provide sufficient power, but obviously, it's not very powerful. Its NEDC range is 442km, and it employs an electric power steering system, equipped with an  HHC slope assistance system and AUTO HOLD automatic parking function. As for intelligent driving assistance systems, they are mainly concentrated on the Aion Y PLUS model, Aion ES doesn't have much intelligence in its configuration.

（Photo/Text/Photography: Pacific Auto Kevin Wong）