China's first electric car was certified in Europe and will arrive on the market in 2020

3 October 2019

China departs from plagiarism conventional cars, to the records of electromobility

Chinese electric car Aiways U5, produced by startup company'ai Chi Automobile, just received the certificate of conformity to European safety standards and must be sold with 2020. The brand name AIWAYS mean "AI ON THE WAY" (artificial intelligence on the road).

International concern for the provision of audit services, TÜV Rheinland has tested the Chinese electric crossover Aiways U5 in accordance with the current European framework Directive official confirmation of conformity of a vehicle type (WVTA).

The company Aiways was quite pleased to show it to products the result and promised to bring U5 in 2020 the European market. Naturally, the first market is planned "world electric Mecca" – Norway. If successful, electrocreaser will be offered and the markets of Sweden and Germany.

The dimensions of electrocreaser Aiways U5, whose aerodynamic and balanced design developed by the German company Gumpert (under the guidance of renowned German engineer Roland Gumpert) are 4680х1880х1680 mm with a wheelbase of 2800 mm, i.e. it is a mid-size, but only 5-seater. Door handles, by the way, made a secret, which resulted in quite a decent CX=0,29.

It is assumed that the chassis based on its own modular platform with an integrated MAS in the ground floor lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 63 kW•h front McPherson struts and rear independent "memorycache" will differ quite a decent handling. The motors of 140 kW and ΜM=350 N•m installed on the front axle and four-wheel drive is not provided in principle.

At legacy riding the NEDC cycle on a single charge of the battery, the crossover needs to pass up to 460 kilometers (in practice, this means not more than three hundred kilometers – ed.).

However you are prompted and "booster" option in the form of extra battery capacity of 18 kWh, placed under the boot floor, increasing the nominal range of up to 560 km.

The driver's seat is made with pretensions to sophistication in the decoration of the interior used a lot of two-tone leather (or "equivalent" artificial skin), so almost all the plastic was draped.

Instead of instruments and buttons –  two large multi-functional screen and touch panel climate control. 

The expected starting price for U5 is ~$25 000.

Getting Aiways U5 WVTA certificate means the official breakthrough of the first Chinese electric car to the market of the European Union.

Interestingly, a month ago, two prototype electrocreaser U5 completed, started in July "Electropribor" length 15 000 km on the territory of 12 countries: China (Xian, Shaanxi province), Kazakhstan, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland and finished in the German Frankfurt am main (just in time for the beginning of the IAA'19). And, about half-way U5 had to be recharged "on the occasion" of the outlets near hotels and supermarkets, etc. However, for such a "electric feat" Chinese Aiways was inscribed in the Guinness Book of records (photo on the splash screen).

background: startup'ai Chi Automobile was created in February 2017 co-founders of Fu Qian (former head of sales in China Volvo Car Corp.), to become CEO, and GU Feng, who became COO and CFO of the company. In February 2018 Aichi Yiwei officially changed its name to Ai Chi Automobile, getting a new logo "AIWAYS", meaning "ON THE WAY AI" (artificial intelligence on the road), which corresponds to the slogan of the company "AI Chi Ai Automobile – "the evolution of the smart car business." The startup introduced its first child – compact electrocreaser U5 in November last year. ironically, the startup Aiways just vykopal power of the hapless producer of SUVs Landwind company Jiangling Holdings from Nandana (2004).

PS Share of China in world production of electric vehicles rose from 31% in 2015 to 43% in 2018, so it is not surprising that already the first "electrolyte" from China gets a favorable response is quite European, yet not consumers, but regulators of the market. This was, in fact, a dozen of Leah ago warned leading experts in the car industry, who believed that the PRC to break from the traditional cars with internal combustion engines (now called ICE) in a highly competitive world market will be almost impossible. So, to prevent the entry of Chinese motor companies on the European market was, for example, enough single, but crushing crash test EuroNCAP the crossover Landwind X6 unlicensed clone of the SUV Isuzu Rodeo LS / Opel Frontera conducted by the General German automobile club (ADAC) . The same experts predicted but what the Chinese electric vehicles success due to the cheapness of the batteries and the local Assembly, which should give fold cheaper compared to counterparts from European, American and Japanese production..