Images, seemingly taken inside GAC’s Design Studio in Guangzhou, show an as-yet-unrevealed Fiesta-sized hatchback that appears production-ready.
The secret model sports AION’s updated design language which first appeared on the new RT saloon, characteristics of which include clean lines, subtle curves, and more traditional design cues such as separated headlamps higher up and spotlights lower down.
In particular here, we see almost rectangular headlights with an ‘eyeliner’ daytime running light, embedded in a heavily chamfered nose with a soft crease running along the mid-line. Beneath this, ice-cube style spotlights, similar to those seen on Kia models of the 2010s, sit in a black surround either side of a trapezoidal air intake that appears to house ADAS sensors.
Black mirrors, C-pillar cladding, and lower door strips help to trim the overall body size of the hatch, while embedded pull-out door handles aid airflow around the body. The D-pad-shaped aero alloys add a touch of playfulness to the design.
At the back, a large bootlid with a flush connection between glass and body suggests a wide entry to the cargo area, while the taillights replicate the ice-cube elements from the front spotlights inside inverted L-shaped brake light elements.
There’s also a reasonably-sized spoiler atop the wraparound-look glass area, and a small rear window wiper, while the roof appears to be a large glass canopy.
As a five-door hatch, it appears likely the all-electric model will compete with the likes of the BYD Dolphin and Wuling Bingo, as well as traditional European superminis where the model is likely to be sold when AION’s European expansion finally takes off.
The only caveat to the images are that they look to have been taken in GAC’s enormous display area in their recently-built Design Centre in Guangzhou, which means this model could be one of several design bucks for a supermini-sized car and thus it’s not necessarily the final design, despite looking very much production-ready.
GAC recently opened a new design studio in Milan and, given Italy and Europe’s propensity for compact models, there’s a decent chance the new hatch is one of the first production works out of this new facility. At the very least they’re likely taking a leading role in fine-tuning the overall concept.
AION’s sales growth has somewhat stalled in 2024 after a breakout year in 2023 driven by fleet sales of AION Y and AION S models that are frequently used for ride-hailing services, but the brand appears to be looking to expand into more public sales too, as well as international sales.
The most recent launch was the RT saloon which, while still appealing to a wide range of buyers in China, isn’t likely to be a big seller in somewhere like Europe, so the hatchback, along with the refreshed AION V, look likely to be the pioneer models for the brand’s expansion efforts.
At this point there are no details for the car, although we’d expect a rear-wheel drive all-electric drivetrain with around 110 to 150kW of power, but it’s likely we won’t have too long to wait. GAC tends to have an entire hall to itself and its various sub-brands at the upcoming Guangzhou Auto Show making it an ideal launch platform for the supermini.
