Aiways U5: Chinese E

Little time? At the end of the text there is a summary.

Chinese manufacturers could soon outgrow their e-mobility competition in the Western world - the signs are increasing day by day. For example, anyone who wants to buy a larger SUV with an electric drive in this country will only find what they are looking for in the so-called premium segment: Audi, Jaguar, Mercedes or Tesla. But their models are not only heavy (nearly 2.5 tons), but also expensive: From 80,000 euros upwards cost the electrified city tanks. How things are different can be admired in China.

There is just under a third of the price with the same space and even greater range of Aiways U5 shortly before its launch. "But what interests us China?", Many will ask now. In the case of the U5 quite a lot: The Far East Stromer should be ordered from April 2020 in Germany.

Aiways vigorously stirs the advertising drum. In March 2019, the Chinese start-up presented the U5 in Europe for the first time to the public, even booked a stand at the Geneva Motor Show. To demonstrate quality and long-distance capability, the company is currently running two prototypes from China to Germany, via Kazakhstan, Russia, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Belgium and France, 14,000 kilometers in total. Destination: the Frankfurt IAA in September. Part of the route was completed for our test drive.

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Aiways has chosen a segment for the U5 in which there is currently no competition. Hyundai, Kia and the French PSA group drive with their compact E-SUV one to two classes deeper. And against the above-mentioned providers, Aiways does not position itself, but instead aims at the volume market. "With attractive electric vehicles, Chinese manufacturers could enter the European market and develop strong competition for local carmakers, because they have no competence advantage in e-mobility," Stefan Bratzel, Head of Car Automotive Management CAM, assesses the situation.

The comparison with German manufacturers of the U5 must not be afraid

The Aiways U5 with a length of 4.68 meters is about as big as a VW Tiguan Allspace or a Skoda Kodiaq and offers lush space for kid and cone. Passengers in the rear can even comfortably beat one another's legs. This has business class format. In the cockpit dominate two large displays, manual switches are almost gone. Touch or language controls the operation, China's customers are young and grew up with the smartphone.

The design looks very reduced, airy and tidy. The quality feel of the U5 must not fear the comparison with products of Western car manufacturers in the volume segment. Whether you like the U5 from the outside is a matter of taste. Especially the front polarized with its large black areas under the LED headlights.

We were traveling with the U5 between Moscow and St. Petersburg. Charging stations are here only in homeopathic dose, you have to know where they stand. An app for the mobile phone that indicates charging points, there is not there. Therefore, the companion of Aiways mobile fast loader in the luggage. They provide up to 20 kilowatts of charging power. For the European market, Aiways promises up to 76 kW of charging power at Quick Charger stations. This would fill the battery in less than an hour.

Spot landing on the sweet spot

Their energy content of 65 kWh is held by Peter Fintl, China and New Mobility expert at consulting firm Altran, for the current "Sweet Spot" in terms of everyday reach and costs. Also Hyundai, Kia and Nissan drive this strategy, they build batteries with 64kWh. However, she clearly wants to beat Aiways at the range. Promised to be lush 503 kilometers. However, according to the outdated and unrealistic NEDC rating. Today, the WLTP cycle applies.

Aiways does not want to name a concrete range, but it should be around 20 percent below the current figures. After all, the tour from Moscow to St. Petersburg showed that the car manages more than 400 kilometers. The low weight of the car, the summer temperatures and the speed limit of 110 km / h in Russia certainly contributed to this.

Like all electric cars, the U5 also accelerates quietly, linearly and emphatically. A light "tram-singing" is only to hear at first. Then it will be quiet. Under the hood sits a 140 kW engine. It delivers a torque of 361 Newton meters, about as much as a modern two-liter diesel. Enough, then, to cope well with everyday traffic. Even the steering, suspension and brakes already leave a professional impression, even if there is a lack of fine tuning here and there. For example, the brake feel in the pedal during recuperation in the prototype was not as smooth and linear as you are used to.

A completely new sales model

Alexander Klose, former head of Volvo in China and, last year, Executive Vice President Overseas Operations at Aiways, is more than certain that the U5 will be a success outside of China: "We have no past with us, we can focus only on the construction of electric cars, and we have set ourselves the goal of fundamentally changing the way cars are sold and used. "

This is no lip service: there are no dealers and no showrooms for Aiways in Germany. The marketing runs exclusively online. Aiways then comes for a test drive into the house. How logistically in reality is supposed to happen - nobody can give an answer during the journey. Also possible is a visit to so-called pop-up stores. Aiways - at least in the first year - is moving from city to city, presenting his new model on the spot.

Also with the traditional model of the car ownership Aiways wants to break: It is intended exclusively leasing. The whole thing is about to expire through a large leasing company whose name Aiways wants to announce by November 2019 at the latest.

Alliance with the Alliance

After all, more concrete information is available on the topics of service, spare parts supply and repairs. For this purpose, the Chinese get the Allianz insurance on board. She will also take care of repairs and is in contact with special workshops. An already established procedure, where after an accident the insurance for the repair often proposes a workshop of their choice.

An official price for the U5 but the young Chinese car maker should still call, at least for Germany. In China, the U5 costs around 35,000 €. In Germany, the leasing rate should be around € 400 per month. But it would have to be called a price for the tax office, on the basis of which the 0.5-percent rule is applied.

Since 1.1.2019, this new regulation has primarily concerned fleet and fleet managers, company car drivers and company owners who not only use their cars as a business vehicle but are also traveling privately. Until now, conventionally powered cars - if no logbook is kept - applied the standard one percent rule. That means: 1.0 percent of the gross list price of the new vehicle must be taxed monthly as additional income. For an electric car, the tax office grants the one-percent rule at half the list price.

Whether Aiways succeeds with its strategy in Europe remains to be seen. The brand is unknown. The trust of the customers must first be won. China car expert Peter Fintl regards the U5 as a whole as a "technically and attractively priced package for an electric vehicle in the popular SUV form". But soon the model meets established competition, especially Volkswagen. Fintl: "With their MEB architecture, the Wolfsburgers not only demonstrate their technological competence, but also have an excellent sales organization."

In summary: The SUV U5 of the Chinese manufacturer Aiways occurs in the segment of electric family SUV against European manufacturers such as Audi, Jaguar and Mercedes, but costs only a third of comparable models. The quality comparison, the China SUV does not have to fear, the unconventional sales model without dealers and own workshops but has yet to prove.